IPL 2021 17 Match: 3 player battle to watch, PBKS vs MI

The Mumbai Indians face The Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. PBKS and MI teams are coming off losses and will be keen to get back to winning ways.

As Mumbai Indians prepare to play a usual regular-season game against Punjab Kings. There might be a few within Punjab King’s camp looking at this game as a season-defining match.

PBKS after losing three matches of the table with just one win from four games.

MI will look to exploit a hapless Punjab bowling attack. It also serves as the perfect platform for the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan to consolidate their position in the middle order after a slow start to the new season.

Ahead of the key clash, let’s take a look at the player matchups that can determine the fate of the tie.

K L Rahul vs Jaspreet Bumrah:

Jasprit Bumrah is a captain’s dream. He can be offensive yet calculated and often end up mesmerizing the batsmen. He defines the game for MI, no doubt about that, and, so does KL Rahul for Punjab Kings. Both are best in their own right but Rahul has more running on this game for him and his team.

Mayank Agrawal vs Rahul Chahar:

Agarwal has 105 runs from four games at an average of 26.25 and a strike rate of 145.83. He will look to anchor the innings for Punjab in an attempt to allow the likes of Rahul, Gayle and Pooran to play their shots.

Rahul Chahar has had a fantastic start to the IPL 2021 edition, taking 8 wickets in 4 games at an economy of 7.37 runs per over. His spell of 4-27 against the Kolkata Knight Riders gave MI an improbable 10-run win.

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Mohammad Shami vs Kieron Pollard:

Kieron Pollard has struggled to get runs under his belt this season. The big West Indian has managed to score just 49 runs in four outings so far.

Mohammad Shami is the senior most regular bowler in the Punjab Kings line-up and his contribution is crucial to their performance. Shami has been unsteady so far, and that is reflecting on the results. 

PBKS barely managed to beat RR while defending 220 runs and failed to defend 198 against Delhi. So, the bowling is struggling, as is reflected by Shami’s record. Four wickets from four matches at an economy of 8.78 don’t inspire much confidence. He needs to get his act together urgently.

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