In match 17 of the Indian T20 League 2021, Punjab take on defending champions Mumbai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Punjab find themselves in early trouble, having lost their last three games in the tournament. They are currently at the bottom of the points table and need a win in this game to keep their spirits up for the upcoming matches. Openers Rahul and Mayank Agarwal haven’t been consistent as a pair. The middle order of Gayle, Pooran and Hooda have been batting poorly. Shahrukh Khan and Moises Henriques have good hitting abilities and need to put them to good use in this game. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh has been impressive but the side needs more from the experienced players. The lack of confidence at the moment is affecting the overall performance of the team.

Mumbai have had a mixed start to the tournament, winning 2 games and losing 2 of their 4 matches. After the two come-from-behind wins against Kolkata and Hyderabad, they lost to Delhi in their last match. The team has not been at its best this season, but has still managed to win games. On a difficult Chennai wicket, the batting has been struggling. Only one half century has been scored and the highest team total has been 159 runs. The bowlers, Boult, Bumrah and Rahul Chahar have been impressive and will be the focus points once again here. Jayant Yadav came into the side in the last game and did well. He will get one more opportunity here before the team moves to Delhi for their further matches.

With both the batting line-ups struggling for consistency, it is going to be a pretty even battle here. Nonetheless, expect a cracking game of T20 cricket at Chennai on Friday.

Match Details

• Match: Punjab vs. Mumbai, Match 17
• Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
• Date & Time: Apr. 23, 2021, at 7:30 PM IST

Statistics

• Head-to-Head Record: Punjab (12) - Mumbai (14)
• Last 5 Games Record: Punjab (2) - Mumbai (3)
• Average 1st Innings Score (Last 5 Games): 152 runs 
• Chasing Record (Last 5 Games): Won 2, Lost 3

Probable Playing XI

Punjab

M Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), C Gayle, D Malan, D Hooda, S Khan, J Richardson, F Allen, M Ashwin, A Singh, M Shami

Mumbai

Q de Kock (WK), R Sharma (C), S Yadav, I Kishan, K Pollard, H Pandya, K Pandya, T Boult, R Chahar, J Yadav, J Bumrah

Weather and Pitch Report

Chennai is expected to have clear and sunny weather during the match. The temperature will be around 34 degrees during the game. 

As seen in the tournament so far, the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is slightly tilted in the favor of bowlers. Although there is not much movement for the pacers, the lengths have been key on this surface so far. The new ball will come onto the bat nicely and the batsmen will be most comfortable in that period. As the match progresses, scoring will get difficult as the ball starts gripping the surface more.

Five out of eight matches have been won by the teams batting first at this venue. So expect the captain who wins the toss to opt to bat first here. A first-innings score of around 175 runs should be a competitive one.

Top Fantasy Picks

• KL Rahul is the highest run scorer for Punjab, with 161 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 141.22. The team struggled to put up runs on the two occasions he was dismissed cheaply. He will look to bat long and deep to help the batting unit.
• D Hooda has done a decent job with the bat in the tournament so far, with 109 runs in four matches at a brilliant strike rate of 162.68. As seen in his 60-run innings against Rajasthan, he can be a clean hitter and increase the scoring rate in the middle overs. 
• A Singh is doing a fine job with the ball for Punjab. Although he failed to pick up a wicket in the last match, he has taken 5 wickets in four matches at an average of 19 and an economy rate of 7.5. He will look to pick more wickets for the team here.
• R Sharma had scores of 44, 32 and 43 in his last three games. He has made good use of the better batting conditions at the start of the innings but needs to go on and make a big score here. The weak bowling attack of Punjab may be his best opportunity in the tournament so far.
• S Yadav is the second-highest run scorer for the team, scoring 121 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 151.25. He got good starts in all the four games but converted only one of those into a substantial knock. He needs to be a bit more patient here and the runs will come.
• R Chahar has been very effective with the ball in the tournament so far. He is currently the highest wicket taker for Mumbai, with 8 wickets in four matches at an excellent average of 14.75. He will be key against the strong hitters of Punjab on a slow Chennai track.

Howzat Dream Team

• Wicketkeeper: KL Rahul 
• Batsmen: R Sharma, S Yadav, D Malan 
• All-rounders: D Hooda, F Allen, K Pollard
• Bowlers: A Singh, R Chahar, T Boult, J Bumrah

• Captain: R Sharma/J Bumrah
• Vice Captain: KL Rahul/D Hooda

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy 11, and play all the fantasy cricket matches from the Indian T20 League in the coming days. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.

Get fantasy cricket tips on your favorite fantasy sports app and select your own team, Howzat!