IPL 2021: Match 42 – Strongest Mumbai Indians (MI) Predicted Playing XI against Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Mumbai Indians created a lot many unwanted firsts in their last outing, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore ran through their batting line-up, dismissing them 54 short of the 166-run target they were set. MI, who were earlier handed a two-wicket defeat in the curtain-raiser of the season by RCB, lost to them twice in the same season for the first time. They were also bowled out by Kohli’s men, another first that would not bring a smile on their faces.

But more than anything else, the manner and timing of the defeat would pinch Mumbai the most. Sunday’s loss was their third in a row after the season resumption. While they started the UAE leg at fourth, they are now only a spot above the last-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad. Having built a reputation as slow starters before teeing off, Mumbai has discovered that the luxury of slow starts is, at best, available only once in a season. But all is not lost.

IPL is in its teenage, so precedents are aplenty. Mumbai have done worse than their three losses on the trot this season. They lost four in a row in 2015, the same year they lifted their second IPL trophy. That said, they would prefer not to show such daredevilry and arrest their losing slide on September 28, when they meet Punjab Kings, a team that has gotten the better of them 13 times in 27 meetings.

Predicted Playing XI of Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2021 Match 42:

Openers – Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock

985730050 isn’t a random mobile number. These were Mumbai Indians batters’ scores against RCB as Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock were the only two to reach double figures. Rohit looked in his elements during his 28-ball 43, which had five boundaries and a six, but he holed out in the deep immediately after receiving a blow on his hand by a powerful Ishan Kishan stroke.

Alongside de Kock, who scored 24 in 23, Rohit took the team to exactly the kind of start they would have wanted attempting a 166-chase, but a sorry story unfolded after their exits, with Mumbai going down to 111 all-out from 79/1.

Middle-order – Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan

The form slump of Mumbai’s middle-order continued against RCB, as Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav returned adding 17 runs amongst themselves in 21 balls. Yadav’s 8 off 9 was his fourth consecutive single-digit score, while Kishan has himself looked an alien of sorts throughout the season, which includes a string of unimpressive first-leg performances from the Indian leg of the tournament.

All-rounders – Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya

After missing out on the first two encounters due to a niggle, Hardik Pandya returned to the team only to be one of the victims of a Harshal Patel hat-trick. He was not used by MI to bowl; with the bat, he scored only 3. His brother Krunal Pandya has been out of touch too. He has completed his quota of overs only once and is yet to take a wicket in the UAE leg, where his highest score with the bat has been 12.

Kieron Pollard was another one of Harshal Patel’s victims in the previous encounter, scoring a 10-ball 7. Like Hardik, Pollard was not used for bowling either. Whatever be the reason behind their non-usage, Mumbai Indians are increasingly becoming a case of playing a solitary all-rounder in the garb of three. If indeed Pollard and Hardik are meant to be utilized as pure batters, their returns have been disappointingly low, not helping their team’s cause one bit at the moment.

Bowlers – Adam Milne, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar

After a wicketless outing against KKR, Trent Boult got back into his groove, and even as he picked only a solitary scalp, he was again at his frugal best, giving merely 17 in his four overs.

To the end of economy, Jasprit Bumrah this season has been in ranges he was hardly seen before, but there is no dearth for him on the front of wickets. He bagged three in the previous game, including a twin-strike that saw the back of both Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers on consecutive deliveries.

Adam Milne was toyed around by Maxwell, who smashed a bowler of his calibre rather easily for switch hits and reverse, and the treatment Milne received was well reflected in his figures that read 1/48, alongside Rahul Chahar, who returned 1/33. That said, the bowling lineup of Mumbai picks itself.