April 18 (Punjab Khabarnama) : After settling for a loss in their last encounters, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians will lock horns to get back to winning ways in their 32nd meeting at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. PBKS lost a hard-fought battle against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. MI, on the other hand, went down against their nemesis the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
The 2014 runner-ups walked in with a lot of hopes against the table-toppers in the absence of their skipper Shikhar Dhawan and failed miserably, only managing to score 147 runs. The bowling anchored by South African pacer Kagiso Rabada gave it their all but a gutsy Shimron Hetmyer stole the show for RR in the final over.
The 37th chapter between arch-rivals saw MI chasing a massive total of 206 set by the guests CSK. As the batting order kept tumbling at one end, opener Rohit Sharma sought to keep the hopes alive for his team by scoring a comprehensive ton. However, the clash ended in despair for the MI fans as the team failed to get past the total.
While the Hardik Pandya-led side will look to mend their batting ways to stand their ground against Sam Curran and co., the PBKS are likely to play another game in the absence of their skipper Dhawan with his comeback still uncertain.
MI likely XI (if batting first)
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee.
MI likely XI (if bowling first)
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Nabi, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Gerald Coetzee.
Impact Players: Akash Madhwal, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David
PBKS likely XI (if batting first)
Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
PBKS likely XI (if bowling first)
Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Impact Players: Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar.
