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In the few days that have passed since Punjab Kings eased past Mumbai Indians in an IPL league stage encounter, the two teams have taken wildly divergent paths.
PBKS has since slumped to a devastating eight-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Qualifier 1, while MI posted an inspired victory over Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator.
When PBKS and MI meet once again in the Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, it is the latter which holds the edge.
MI will be mighty pleased to see Rohit Sharma going great guns. The experienced star put MI on the right track with a vintage 81 against GT on Friday, albeit aided by a couple of catch reprieves.
Jonny Bairstow neatly filled the second opener spot left vacant by Ryan Rickelton. With a 22-ball 47, Bairstow hit the ground running.
PBKS will be wary of MI’s batting depth. Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir pack explosive power, and if the PBKS bowlers have an off day, a huge score is on the cards.
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On the bowling front, MI has the ultimate cheat code in Jasprit Bumrah. The pacer can turn a match on a dime, as he did on Friday with a peach to dismiss Washington Sundar.
PBKS needs to quickly make amends for a horror show against RCB. The batting unit inexplicably froze and was bundled out for 101.
Captain Shreyas Iyer will be keen to take the lead and show the way. PBKS does bat deep, even if the recent collapse raises concerns about the side’s championship pedigree.
The likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh need to clear the mind of all negativity and play their natural attacking game.
In the seven fixtures played here this season, only once has the team batting first failed to breach the 200-run mark. An entertaining run feast is on the cards.
