Five-time champions Mumbai Indians look to build on winning momentum as they gear up to clash with Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 tonight, aiming to secure seventh appearance in IPL final
Mumbai Indians players celebrate a Gujarat Titans wicket in New Chandigarh on Friday. Pic/AFP
An intense punch-up is on the cards when five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the blue corner look to knock out Punjab Kings in the red corner in the Indian Premier League (IPL) virtual semi-final on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium.
In the groove
Hardik Pandya’s team have the advantage of greater experience of IPL knockouts, and more importantly, they are coming into this Qualifier 2 matchup after an exciting win over tournament favourites Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator.
Punjab Kings have qualified for the Playoffs for only the third time. They first made it to the knockout stage in 2008, where they were eliminated by the Chennai Super Kings. In 2014, they reached the final but lost to the then eventual champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer will look to reach his second consecutive IPL final after guiding KKR to victory last year. Pic/Getty Images
MI have an enviable record of qualifying for the last-four stages 11 times. On six occasions, they have advanced to the title clash and have won it five times.
With rain unlikely in Ahmedabad, a run feast is expected. This season, out of seven league matches here, only once did neither team cross the 200-run mark — when Gujarat Titans were restricted to 196-8 by MI, who were bowled out for
160. In all, 2,461 runs have been scored during the seven league games at this 1,30,000-capacity stadium.
MI will obviously be cock-a-hoop after scoring 228-5 against GT in the Eliminator on Friday night, but PBKS will have to work hard to lift their morale after a humiliating eight-wicket defeat in Qualifier 1 to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The MI batsmen are in good nick, including Jonny Bairstow. The English opener came in as Ryan Rickelton’s replacement and straightaway got in the groove, scoring 47 with a strike rate of 213 against GT.
Bowling woes for PBKS
PBKS will miss Marco Jansen’s all-round ability. The South African has joined his national team in England to play in the ICC World Test Championship final against the defending champions Australia. There’s no update yet on leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s recovery from a wrist injury, due to which he has missed their last three matches, including the first qualifier.
Left-arm PBKS seamer Arshdeep Singh will have to do the heavy lifting in their bowling attack. In the absence of Jansen and Chahal, the Punjab attack looks too weak to rein in the rampaging Mumbai batting line-up that boasts the likes of Rohit Sharma, Bairstow, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, and not to forget finisher par excellence Hardik Pandya, who hit three sixes in the last over that proved crucial in the end.
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, himself a Mumbaikar, said after the heavy defeat that they had lost a battle, not the war.
A toe-to-toe fight is expected in this battle for a place in the final against RCB.
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