MI vs PBKS Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2021 match?

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KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will probably open the innings for India in the T20 World Cup

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will probably open the innings for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup. But the two classy batsmen will be on opposite sides of the battle as the Mumbai Indians (MI) take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 42 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Abu Dhabi on September 28.

Rahul and Rohit are two captains with contrasting records in the IPL. While Rohit has led MI to five IPL titles and has a stupendous win percentage, Rahul is relatively inexperienced after taking the reins of an inconsistent PBKS side last year. But in IPL 2021, both PBKS and RR have four wins from 10 games and a negative run rate, adding great importance to this contest.

MI have been a massive disappointment in the UAE leg, with their indifferent form showing no signs of picking up. They squandered a winning position against the Chennai Super Kings and were then comprehensively outclassed by the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Meanwhile, PBKS squandered a winning position of their own in shocking fashion against the Rajasthan Royals before recovering well in a last-ball thriller against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The reverse fixture between the two sides ended in a one-sided PBKS win. After restricting MI to just 131 on a slow track in Chennai, KL Rahul's men chased down the total in the 18th over with nine wickets to spare. The PBKS skipper was declared Man of the Match for his unbeaten 60.

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IPL 2021: MI look to get out of a mid-table battle they weren't expected to be in

Rohit Sharma's wicket triggered a collapse for MI against RCB

Post the loss to the Royal Challengers Bangalore, MI captain Rohit Sharma admitted that the batsmen had let the team down. That's something never expected to happen in a playing XI consisting of Rohit, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard.

Suryakumar and Kishan, fresh off being selected in India's T20 World Cup squad, have thrown their wickets away in embarrassing fashion in IPL 2021's UAE leg so far. Rohit and De Kock haven't been able to fire in unison often, with their post-powerplay batting coming under some scrutiny.

Hardik Pandya returned to the playing XI in the previous game, but the all-rounder didn't bowl and didn't seem to be in any touch with the bat. His involvement will be analyzed on end since he's the only pace-bowling all-rounder in India's T20 World Cup squad and is going through a dreadful run of form.

MI might consider making a few changes against PBKS. Left-hander slayer Jayant Yadav could replace the woefully out-of-form Krunal Pandya to counter the threat of Nicholas Pooran and Chris Gayle. Given how poor Krunal has been with the bat in the recent past, MI's batting won't really be affected much. But if they want to make up for bringing in Yadav, Adam Milne could be sacrificed for Nathan Coulter-Nile.

PBKS, on the other hand, have arrived at a decent combination in IPL 2021. Harpreet Brar and Ravi Bishnoi make up the spin department, with Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami leading the pace attack with aplomb. Nathan Ellis bowled a superb final over on IPL debut, while Deepak Hooda and Aiden Markram are also capable of rolling their arm over.

The wicket in Abu Dhabi is expected to be a touch two-paced, which might go against the PBKS middle order, who like the ball to come onto the bat. Markram, Pooran and Gayle struggled to get going in the previous game, and Rahul and Mayank Agarwal may be left to do the bulk of the run-scoring once again.

For MI, it's clear that something has to give in the middle order. Their explosive stars have to come good, and they have to do it soon. Can it happen against PBKS, whose bowling attack doesn't have anyone with a real X-factor? It's tough to say, but you could probably back MI to pull something out of the hat with their IPL 2021 season on the line.

This isn't an easy prediction to make, since MI's middle order hasn't shown any signs of promise so far. But even if one of the batsmen - Suryakumar, for example - comes up with a proper knock, and MI's new-ball bowlers make a few early inroads, we might see the defending champions break their losing streak in IPL 2021.

Prediction: MI to win Match 42 of IPL 2021