IPL 2021 Match 17 – Punjab Kings v Mumbai Indian Betting Preview

IPL 2021: Punjab Kings v Mumbai Indians – Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XIs and Value Bets.

Match Details
Punjab Kings v Mumbai Indians
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Friday, April 23rd, 2021
16:00 SA Time

Betting Preview

The 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium. PBKS and MI have faced each other on 26 occasions, MI have won 14 of those. Both the teams are struggling to find form and this could be a closely fought contest.

Punjab Kings, after losing two matches, pushed the panic button in the match against SRH and made a bunch of changes. They went from a bowling heavy team to an opposite route. They brought in Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen to strengthen the batting unit but it didn’t quite work out as they were bundled out for 120. None of the batsmen from PBKS looked got going except for Shahrukh Khan who scored 22 off 17. Their bowling couldn’t do anything with such a small total on the board. PBKS will need to find the right balance soon.

The defending champions Mumbai Indians haven’t got their campaign to a great start, they’ve lost two of their first four. They have been awful with regards to their batting in all the four games. The likes of de Kock, Kishan, Hardik, Pollard are struggling to get going on the Chepauk pitches. MI batting has been completely dependent on Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, both have looked great but haven’t been able to produce big knocks. Mumbai’s bowling attack on the other hand, has done a great job so far by clinching two victories from losing positions. MI batsmen will have to step up quickly if they are to reach the playoffs.

Injury and Availability News

Punjab Kings will have all their players available for selection. Mumbai Indians’ pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile is not 100% fit and might not be available.

Probable Playing XI

Punjab Kings

KL Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Jhye Richardson, Jalaj Saxena, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pitch and Conditions

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium has produced many low scoring thrillers this season. The pitches here are slow and extremely helpful for spinners while batting hasn’t been easy as the innings progresses. The average first innings score at the Chepauk in IPL 2021 is 162.

Key Players to Watch Out For

Nicholas Pooran: The southpaw is one of the best middle-order batsmen in the world. Pooran is can go absolutely crazy and destroy spinners for fun. Pooran scored 353 runs in IPL 2020 at an average of 35.3 and strike rate of 169.7. However, this season he has had a horrendous start with 3 ducks in four matches. Pooran will be looking to put on a show.

Fabian Allen: The slow left-arm all-rounder is one of the most exciting young talents in the world. Allen is an extraordinary power-hitter of the ball and has often bailed out teams he has played for. Allen has scored 545 runs in T20 cricket with an average of 36.3 and a spectacular strike rate of 174.1. Allen will be looking to make his mark on the IPL.

Ishan Kishan: The pocket dynamo who played spectacular cricket in the last IPL edition hasn’t had the best of times this season. Kishan has struggled to score efficiently in the four matches so far with only 67 runs to his name at an abysmal strike rate of 94.4. Kishan had scored 516 runs at a strike rate of 145.8 in IPL 2020. Mumbai Indians will need the southpaw at his best against PBKS.

Jayant Yadav: The off-spin all-rounder has been used by MI to counter LHBs heavy teams from time to time. Yadav has received only a few opportunities in IPL but in those, he has an impressive economy rate of 6.54. He has picked 7 wickets in IPL with 6 of them being left-handers. If he plays, it will be interesting to see how he does against the dangerous pair of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran.

What Bets To Take

Punjab Kings

KL Rahul to be PBKS’s top batsman at 2.90.

Mohammad Shami to be PBKS’s top bowler at 3.50.

Mumbai Indians

Quinton de Kock/Rohit Sharma to be MI’s top batsman at 3.50.

Jasprit Bumrah to be MI’s top bowler at 3.00.

Prediction: Mumbai Indians to win at 1.50.