Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) will be eager to bounce back after a dreadful start to their title defense in the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday. The five-time IPL champions are up against KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match No.42 of the cash-rich league at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Rohit’s Mumbai Paltan has suffered three back-to-back defeats in the second leg of the IPL 2021.
Glenn Maxwell’s scintillating knock and Harshal Patel’s hat-trick crushed Mumbai Indians in their previous encounter against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday. While Mumbai Indians are heading into Tuesday’s contest on the back of an embarrassing defeat, Rahul’s Punjab held their nerve against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their previous encounter of the 14th season. Rahul and Co. upstaged Kane Williamson’s SRH by five runs in a low-scoring thriller at Sharjah.
Rahul-led PBKS are heading into the fixture with their tails up. PBKS had outclassed MI when both teams last met in the 14th season of the cash-rich league. Mumbai Indians still have a better head-to-head record over Punjab Kings with 14 wins from 27 matches. Rahul-led PBKS have registered 13 wins and a win over struggling Mumbai on Tuesday can help the Punjab giants in restoring parity.
Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard is the leading run-scorer in MI vs PBKS fixtures. The veteran all-rounder is topping the batting chart with 514 runs to his name. Run machine Rahul has smashed 443 runs for Punjab against Rohit’s Mumbai. Pace ace Jasprit Bumrah has bagged 17 wickets against Punjab in the cash-rich league.
Mohammed Shami, who will be Bumrah’s counterpart in the MI vs PBKS fixture, has taken 10 wickets for the Rahul-led side against Mumbai. Mumbai Indians, who have embraced a three-match losing streak in the UAE, had suffered four successive defeats in the IPL 2015. Mumbai Indians were crowned champions in the 2015 edition of the cash-rich league tournament.
