Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings Match Preview, IPL 2022, Match 23, MI vs PBKS

Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings Match Preview, IPL 2022, Match 23, MI vs PBKS. Mumbai Indians will be desperate for a win when they take on Punjab Kings in match 23 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday (April 13) at 7:30 pm.

CSK vs RCB Dream11 Prediction

Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians have had the worst start to their campaign as they have lost 4 of 4 matches so far, while Mayank Agarwal’s PBKS, who started the season on a strong note, has won 2 and lost 2 in their 4 matches.

Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings Match Preview, IPL 2022, Match 23, MI vs PBKS

MI came into the season with a completely different-looking bowling lineup except for Jasprit Bumrah and the record champions’ struggles are clear to see from their opening game loss to Delhi Capitals. They followed in similar form with successive defeats to Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and most recently against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Versus RCB, MI opted for just 2 overseas players. It will be interesting to see if they use the fill-up quota in the upcoming games.

Punjab Kings- Team News- Benny Howell May Debut And Play In Place Of Odean Smith

PBKS, meanwhile, opened their season with a huge run chase win against RCB and then followed with a defeat to KKR, failing to defend a below-par score. However, they bounced back with the defense of a challenging total against Chennai Super Kings. But their morale will be down after they failed to defend a score against Gujarat Titans despite being on top right until the final over of the match.

Punjab Kings would be gutted after their terrible bowling performance against Gujarat Titans in the previous game of IPL 2022. They lost the game from nowhere mainly due to their overseas pace duo of Kagiso Ragada and Odean Smith. Odean Smith couldn’t defend 12 runs off 2 balls, and this is as bad as it could get. Their batting looks alright at the moment but it is their bowling that is pathetic.

Punjab Kings have all their overseas players available. There are high chances that they may consider bringing in Benny Howell for Odean Smith who is an experienced T20 veteran from Hampshire. He has plenty of variations under his sleeves and is one of the pioneers when it comes to bowling off cutters, leg cutters, and knuckleballs in T20s. He is also a decent hitter lower down the order.

With the firepower of another England keeper Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order, they can certainly go for Benny Howell, who may not be a fierce six-hitter like Odean Smith but provides much better control than Odean Smith with the ball.

PBKS Probable XI: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Benny Howell, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Varun Arora, Arshdeep Singh.

Mumbai Indians- Team News- Fabian Allen May Debut

Mumbai Indians have been a bit below par in all three departments, but it’s the batting that has been a bigger letdown for the Rohit Sharma-led unit. Because thrice out of the four games so far, Mumbai Indians have batted first and failed to give their bowlers a defendable total that they can feel comfortable with.

Scores of 161 against KKR a few days ago and 151 against RCB on Saturday had already reduced the margins for errors for MI’s bowling unit. Three out of four times, MI has got to a total of 50 or more in the Powerplay. It’s the batting in the middle overs that has really let them down. MI’s average run rate of 6.72 from overs seven to 16 is the lowest among all teams at this IPL so far.

Mumbai Indians let go of star players Trent Boult and Quinton de Kock ahead of the mega auction. They invested in the likes of Jofra Archer, Tim David, Daniel Sams, and Tymal Mills but they haven’t been able to live up to the expectations.

Daniel Sams has been ordinary with his bowling while Tim David was dropped after a couple of outings. Jofra Archer will only be available next year. Tymal Mills is their highest wicket-taker so far but he hasn’t been able to replicate Trent Boult’s heroics in the powerplay.

Except for one game, Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t been able to make inroads into the opposition batting line-up. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma hasn’t been able to convert his starts into big knocks in all the four matches so far.

Mumbai Indians have always been known to scout and groom young talents. They bought the star prodigy, Dewald Brevis, and also roped in guys like Tilak Varma and Ramandeep Singh. Spin bowling looks thin with the presence of Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande, who do not have enough experience on the biggest stage.

During the IPL auction in 2022, the franchise selected Fabian Allen for Rs. 75 lakh. Mumbai Indians are his third IPL team as he previously represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. He largely warmed the benches for both sides with only four matches under his belt, all of which came in IPL 2021. However, the 26-year-old is an integral part of West Indies’ limited-overs squad. He may debut in the next game against PBKS.

The lanky Australian fast bowler in Riley Meredith hasn’t been given an opportunity in the first four games for MI even though there was a window for him to play in the XI. Mumbai Indians haven’t shown enough trust in Tim David and Tymal Mills this season so far. It is terrible to drop Tim David after just 2 games in the season and play an unproven Dewald Brevis in the first place.

Mumbai Indians can easily drop Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat and play both Riley Meredith and Tymal Mills which would significantly boost their bowling attack by a mile or they may opt to play Fabian Allen in place of Ramandeep Singh.

MI Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Tymal Mills, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Basil Thampi.