IPL 2023, MI vs PBKS: Pitch report (Wankhede Stadium)
Mumbai Indians will cross swords against the Punjab Kings in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The fixture will be held at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on April 22 from 7:30pm onward. After a patchy start to the campaign, MI have now won three consecutive matches. Whereas, PBKS have three wins and as many losses under their belt. Here's more.
How the pitch behaves here?
The strip here is a batter's paradise and the shorter dimensions also help their cause. The new ball will provide some aid to the pacers. The toss-winning captain may look to chase as the pitch often gets better to bat as the match goes on as we saw MI chase down KKR's 185 in 17.4 overs. However, dew can also be a factor here.
Here are the stadium stats
The pitch is very good for batters and hence, 8.43 is the average run rate in IPL for teams batting first here. 47 times teams batting first have won here in 106 IPL clashes. The chasing teams have bagged 58 victories (1 Tie). RCB's 235/1 against MI is the highest score at the venue. KKR's 67 in 2008 versus MI is the lowest score.
Here are the key performers at this venue
Rohit Sharma has smoked 1,881 runs at this venue in IPL at an average of 33.58. He has slammed 14 fifties. Suryakumar Yadav has accumulated 550 runs here in 21 matches. Shikhar Dhawan has also scored 625 runs at the Wankhede in 17 matches at 41.66. Piyush Chawla has claimed six wickets in nine matches here. He is MI's highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023.
The story of the season for these two teams
MI started with two defeats but once they defeated DC, their confidence was up and they then handed losses to KKR and SRH in consecutive matches. They have won one match out of three while defending. Meanwhile, PBKS started the season with two wins and in both, they defended well. However, in the last four matches, they have won only once.
Here are the probable playing XIs
MI (Probable XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Cameron Green, Arjun Tendulkar, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff. PBKS (Probable XI): Atharva Taide/ Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
