IPL 2021 Match Prediction: Mumbai Indians versus Punjab Kings. 42nd Match. Who Will Win?

The Mumbai Indians are sitting at the bottom of the 2021 IPL table, and this is not where you would expect one of the most successful IPL teams to be sitting. Going into the resumption of the 2021 IPL, they were sitting pretty in a play-off position, but after having lost all three matches in the United Arab Emirates, they must now win their next match. They will take on the Punjab Kings, who are also struggling, but they did win their last game.

With only four matches left, every game is crucial and neither team has any room left for error. Who will win this crucial clash? Read on to find out our IPL prediction.

Mumbai Indians Team Preview

The Mumbai Indians had a complete batting collapse against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last game. They slipped from 57/0 after the powerplay to 111 all out. Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma were the only players who got a start as nobody else made it past single figures. They are known to be slow starters, but they will need to snap out of it quickly or risk not even making the play-offs, which would be catastrophic for them.

The lack of any type of form for the likes of Keiron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Krunal Pandya will be a huge concern for them. The question that the higher ups have to ask themselves if whether they make wholesale changes or keep faith in their team? We would probably keep faith in the team because the shift in venue to Abu Dhabi is probably one that will help them out. The previous game there between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders was a high-scoring one.

While their batting was poor, their bowling was very good at the death thanks to Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. It must be said that Adam Milne put in a good performance. However, Rahul Chahar, one of their spinners, has not been up to the mark.

Punjab Kings Team Preview

They have played three matches since the resumption and two of them have been really close. The first match was one where they lost from a strong position and in the second one, they won from a weak position. The Punjab Kings have made a number of bold choices when it comes to their team, and we think that they are back on the right path. Adding Ravi Bishnoi to the team was an excellent move, while Chris Gayle adds a lot of batting strength, and Nathan Ellis is an accomplished death over bowler.

However, there can be no doubt that the Punjab Kings are struggling a bit with their batting at the moment. KL Rahul and Mayank Aggarwal are in pretty good touch, but they are the only ones. On the other hand, their bowling lineup is better than you would think. Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, and Bishnoi will be tricky to get away on spin-friendly pitches, and could end up being the difference between the Punjab Kings sneaking into the play-offs or going home early.

Toss Prediction

The captain that is lucky enough to win the toss will more than likely choose to bat first. The wickets are getting slower and chasing a score has proved difficult for most teams. There is no doubt that batting first is an advantage, and we would be quite surprised if the winning captain decided to have a bowl first.

Pitch Conditions

The conditions here for the previous match were decent for batting, and we hope for the same thing time around. The ball has been coming onto the bat better and the batsmen could play through the line. Even if the wicket slows a little, a score of around 150-160 is possible on the pitch.

Our Match Prediction

We are going to for class and experience here and bet on the Mumbai Indians to finally get a win in the UAE. They have been in tricky situations like this in the past and have somehow managed to turn things in their favour. We would definitely put our money on them to beat the Punjab Kings.

Our match prediction: