IPL 2021, PBKS vs MI: 5 players to watch out for

Punjab Kings will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in Match 17 of IPL 2021 on Friday, April 23, at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The two sides have faced each other 26 times in previous editions of the tournament. Punjab have won 12 of those games, while Mumbai have been slightly better and managed to win 14 encounters.

Punjab Kings once again find themselves right at the bottom of the IPL 2021 points table with just a solitary win from 4 matches. They opened their account with a thrilling win against the Rajasthan Royals, but have gone on to lose thrice in a row.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, have made a decent start to their IPL 2021 campaign and currently occupy fourth position in the table with 2 wins from 4 games. They head into this game on the back of a narrow defeat against the Delhi Capitals and will hope for a much-improved performance against the struggling Punjab Kings.

In anticipation of this mouth-watering contest, we take a look at the top 5 players who could make a difference in this game.

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been in sublime form for PBKS in the last couple of IPL seasons. He has scored the bulk of runs for Punjab against Mumbai as evident from his 383 runs from 6 innings. With his side in desperate need of a win, Rahul is expected to lead from the front and deliver a special innings.

#2 Jasprit Bumrah

The major reason behind the success of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL is their strong bowling core. Jasprit Bumrah leads the pack against PBKS with 17 scalps from 12 innings. Because of his consistent bowling and the variations he brings with his bouncers and yorkers, he is definitely the one to watch out for.

#3 Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard is a veteran when it comes to the T20 format. His hard-hitting abilities are unmatched and can be a nightmare for opposition bowlers once he gets going. Pollard is the leading run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians against Punjab Kings with 498 runs from 20 innings at a SR of 164.90 and an average of 38.31.

#4 Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami is the most experienced pace bowler for the Punjab Kings. He has scalped 8 wickets from just 4 innings against the Mumbai Indians. The specialist Indian fast bowler started the IPL 2021 season well with 4 wickets from the first 2 games but has seen a dip in form since then. Shami will want to quickly adapt to the line and length and hope for a better outing against MI.

#5 Rahul Chahar

Chahar is leading the MI spin department once again this season. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021, with 8 wickets to his name. The in-form leg-spinner has 4 wickets from just 3 games against the Punjab Kings and will be looking to add a few more to his tally.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee