Red-hot Mumbai look to extend winning run against Dhawan-less Kings
After winning back-to-back games, Kings have managed just one more win in four - and they are set to be without the experience of Kagiso Rabada once again
Hemant Brar
21-Apr-2023 • Updated 3 hrs ago
Big picture: Two teams on different trajectories
There's a popular meme template: how it started and how it's going. Mumbai Indians' journey so far in IPL 2023 fits that perfectly. They began the season with two crushing defeats before bouncing back with three wins on the trot.
Even before those two defeats, their batting had looked solid on paper. But the lack of runs from Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav threw a spanner in the works. With both coming into their own over the last two games, Mumbai look a much stronger unit.
For Punjab Kings, Mumbai's opponents on Saturday, things have gone the other way round. After winning back-to-back games - something they failed to do last year - they managed just one more win in their next four outings.
Kings' plan with bat was that their captain Shikhar Dhawan plays the anchor's role and others hit around him. But Dhawan's shoulder injury caught them without a back-up plan.
And now they have the added worry of Kagiso Rabada having picked up a niggle - he missed their last game due to this, and ESPNcricinfo understands he will sit out the game against Mumbai too.*
Injury issues aside, Kings need to figure out their best combination of overseas players. Sikandar Raza was the Player of the Match against Lucknow Super Giants but was left out for the RCB game. Kings may have to revisit that decision.
Form guide
Mumbai Indians WWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Punjab Kings LWLLW
Punjab Kings LWLLW
Team news: Archer-watch
Kings will once again be without Dhawan and Rabada. On Thursday, their fielding coach Trevor Gonsalves said Dhawan would take "at least another two to three days" to be fully fit. Mumbai will be optimistic about Jofra Archer as he has shown vast improvement since he felt the discomfort in his right elbow post the first match. He even bowled full tilt during the practice session on Thursday, and Jason Behrendorff, too, said on Friday that Archer was "not too far away".
Impact Player strategy
Mumbai Indians: If Archer is available, he could come in for Riley Meredith. Else Mumbai could field an unchanged side with Tilak Varma and Meredith as their Impact Player pair.
Probable XII: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Cameron Green, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Nehal Wadhera, 8 Jofra Archer/Riley Meredith, 9 Arjun Tendulkar, 10 Hrithik Shokeen, 11 Piyush Chawla, 12 Jason Behrendorff
Punjab Kings: Nathan Ellis will continue in Rabada's stead. Prabhsimran Singh and Rahul Chahar could once again be their Impact pair.
Probable XII: 1 Atharva Taide, 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Liam Livingstone, 4 Harpreet Singh, 5 Matthew Short, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Sam Curran (capt), 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Rahul Chahar
Stats that matter
- Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have given Mumbai flying starts in IPL 2023. Among those pairs who have opened at least three times this season, Rohit and Kishan's scoring rate of 9.61 is second only to Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal's 9.75.
- So far in this season, Kings have lost three or more wickets inside the powerplay on three occasions, the joint-most for a team along with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Pitch and conditions: Win toss, bowl first
The Wankhede is a chasing ground. Since the start of 2021, the teams batting second have won 22 out of the 32 night T20s played at this venue. Spinners have been more successful here this IPL; they have 13 wickets at an economy of 7.64, while fast bowlers have nine at 10.17.
*The preview was updated after reports of Rabada missing this game came in.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo