Punjab Kings lost the Qualifier match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 8 wickets at home ground. Punjab Kings batting collapsed for the second time in this season but this time it was worse than 111 runs versus KKR. They were in the top two which has given them another chance to redeem themselves. Now they have three wins in the last five games.
Mumbai Indians have been in better form, winning three matches out of the last five games. They are coming off a brilliant win against Gujarat Titans led by their superstar Rohit Sharma and Jonny Bairstow by giving the team a dream start. Rohit Sharma scored 81 runs while Jonny Bairstow flew like a fighter jet in his first match of IPL scoring 47 off 22 balls.
Punjab Kings are coming off a disappointing loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Qualifier 1. They dominated the IPL 2025 in the league stage but choked in the Qualifier 1 which was one of the most important matches for them. This season Punjab has made a very strong comeback and has reached the playoffs after 11 years. Their batting order is doing well but sometimes there is a problem in both departments. They need to make Mumbai Indians feel the pressure early in the match otherwise there is no chance against Mumbai Indians with such vast experience of high pressure matches.
Mumbai Indians finished fourth in the table and thus had to play the Eliminator in the last match against Gujarat Titans. They destroyed Gujarat Titans bowling early in the match through top starts from Jonny Bairstow and Rohit Sharma. While chasing a mammoth total of with 229 runs, Gujarat Titans came so close just to lose the match by 20 runs. Mumbai Indians are looking so strong in comparison to the start of the season. The start of the season was bad but they made a strong comeback in the middle. They struggled in the last season as well and in the beginning of this season too they won only one match in the first 5. But now the team is in rhythm.
The 33 match head-to-head rivalry between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians has been an interesting one. There is a difference of just one match between these two teams. Mumbai Indians have 17 victories while Punjab Kings managed to win 16 games. In the last match, Mumbai Indians lost to Punjab Kings by 7 wickets. Josh Inglis and Priyansh Arya played beautifully to take their team over the line.
The pitch of Narendra Modi Stadium is good for both batting and bowling. So far 43 IPL matches have been played here. 21 times the team batting first has won and 21 times the chasing team has won. Only one match has been won. This means this pitch is fair for both types of teams. The average score of the team batting first is 180. The average score of the second innings is 163, which is a little less. Meaning if a good total is obtained by batting first, then the chances of winning the match increase.
While the temperature in Ahmedabad will remain between 30-34°C, humidity will be 40-57% and there is no chance of rain, so the match will be completed smoothly.
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson
Impact Players: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlet.
Injury Update: None
Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Richard Gleeson
Impact Players: Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley.
Injury Updates: None
As per toss analysis If Punjab Kings won the toss, they will choose to bowl first as chasing is the better option in Ahmedabad. Mumbai Indians are expected to score 50-60 runs in the first 6 overs while their total will be between 185-195 runs. Punjab Kings will win this match while chasing. (Keep and eye on Shashank Singh in Chasing)
In the other case if Mumbai Indians wins the toss, they will also choose to ball first and will try to restrict Punjab Kings under 200 however it is expected that Punjab Kings will be able to score 190+ runs in this match while batting first. But again Mumbai will win this match with a strong chase.
In both cases, Chasing Team is expected to win this match.
Suryakumar Yadav has scored 673 runs in 15 matches. His average is 67.30 and strike rate is close to 170. Currently he seems to be the most consistent batsman of the team. He scored runs every time in the last few matches. He was the man of the match for his innings of 73 not out against Delhi Capitals in a must win match. He scored 33 off 20 against Gujarat Titans in the last match. Whenever he stays on the pitch he tries to hit a big shot in every over. It could be risky to ignore him in this match after these solid stats.
Jasprit Bumrah has taken 18 wickets in just 11 matches. Average is around 15.33 and the economy has also been tight. In the match against Gujarat Titans as well, he dismissed Washington Sundar and gave just 27 runs in his four overs to change the momentum of the match. However his best this season was 4 wickets against LSG. He bowls in every phase and keeps the pressure built. If any bowler from Mumbai looks the most dangerous then it is Bumrah.
Chasing has always been easy on the Ahmedabad pitch. God gives a lot of effect in the second innings, the ball comes straight and batting becomes easy. Teams have chased big targets under pressure on this ground too. So whichever team wins the toss and bowls first will have better chances of winning. The chasing team will probably win this match as well.
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