An exciting Saturday is on the cards for the cricket lovers with two entertaining clashes scheduled to take place. In the opening tie, Kings XI Punjab will face Mumbai Indians at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. It will be a cracker of a game with both sides desperate for a win.
The three-time champions Mumbai have got their first win in the tournament beating Royal Challengers Bangalore. They will look to bank on their winning momentum to pocket around valuable two points. Their bowling looks more threatening, with Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga hitting the right line and length. The batting-order also seems packed with Rohit Sharma looking in excellent touch. The form of Hardik Pandya will be a massive boost for the blues.
On the other hand, Punjab will be desperate to strike the balance they have lacking so far. They have quality players in their ranks in both the departments and will want to find the combinations going. Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin will have to put that Mankad incident behind and lead the side from the front and guide his side to return to winning ways.
Date and Venue: March 30 (Saturday), at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
Venue Details
So far, PCA Stadium has hosted 49 games with teams batting first winning 22 of them while 27 matches have been won by teams while chasing. The average first innings score is around 164 while it comes down to 154 in the second half.
The first innings score is likely to be around the 150-160 run mark with the team batting second, having an advantage over the match.
Weather Forecast
It’s going to be very hot at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. With Kinga XI Punjab hosting their first-ever game at the home venue, the temperature would hover around 34-degree Celsius.
Meanwhile, there are little chances of precipitation during the game time which will keep the skippers of both sides on their toes. Moreover, the humidity will be around 40 percent which is unlikely to take a toll on the players.
Match Prediction
Both teams will come into this game with one win by their side from two games. So far, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians have 22 matches against each other. Mumbai have a slight advantage over the home side with 12 wins while Punjab have ten wins to their name.
Besides, Mumbai will come with the winning momentum beating Royal Challengers Bangalore. On the other hand, Punjab suffered a defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders after winning their opening tie. However, they have got good rest between the two games and is fresh to take the field once again.
But the recent Mankad incident involving their skipper Ravichandran Ashwin has taken a toll on the team. Kings XI Punjab need to leave that behind if they want to progress further in the tournament. Considering all the factors, momentum is significant in this kind of tournaments, and as a result, Mumbai Indians are likely to have a slight edge over host Kings XI Punjab.