Faltering Punjab, Mumbai desperate to resurrect campaign

Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians will be desperate to resurrect their faltering campaigns in IPL 2024 when the two bottomrung teams faceoff on ThursdayOnly a few decimal points separate the two teams after six matches each with Punjabs marginally better Net Run Rate of 0218 keeping them at the seventh spot in the IPL points table one above Mumbai Indians 0234Both Punjab and Mumbai have lost four matches each and are coming off defeats in their respective last outings which mean pressure will be high on both the camps to get their act togetherFor Punjab the challenge of getting the best out of their top order has compounded with regular skipper Dhawan being sidelined for seven to 10 days due to a shoulder injuryThe only bright spot for PBKS this season has been resolute displays from their unsung Indian players Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who both bat lower in the order and have had to make up for the shortcomings at the top more than onceThe form of Prabhsimran Singh 119 runs in six matches at 1983 is a concern and the same can be said for India wicketkeeperbatter Jitesh Sharma With selection for the World Cup squad on the horizon Jitesh who has managed a mere 106 runs in six outings at 1766 would be under the pump tooPBKS will have to find more support for their overseas bowling duo of Sam Curran 126 runs and 8 wickets and Kagiso Rabada 9 The Indian pair of Arshdeep Singh 9 and Harshal Patel 7 have both been easy targets for battersMumbai Indians would know they have enough firepower in the camp to turn the tide but a collective effort on a consistent basis is the need of the hourTwo wins at home against Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru did end their threematch losing run but a loss to Chennai Super Kings despite Rohit Sharmas century meant the fivetime winners have forced them to go back to the drawing boardAlso ReadIndias T20 World Cup squad DubeRinkuGill vs Jaiswal shootoutIt starts with Hardik Pandyas form and role in the side The allrounder has looked to share responsibility in bowling department but his economy rate of 12 is alarming On the same parameter Gerald Coetzee 9 and uncapped Akash Madhwal 4 have given away more than 10 runs an overWith the bat Pandya has not provided any consolidation while batting first or finished matches in the latter halfAt the same time Pandya has faced hostile environments at various stadiums in all the games he has played so far this season something that could have an adverse impact on a playerRohit and Ishan Kishans form thus become crucial for Mumbai Indians for whom Suryakumar Yadav has produced mixed resultsTeams fromPunjab Kings Shikhar Dhawan c Matthew Short Prabhsimran Singh Jitesh Sharma Sikandar Raza Rishi Dhawan Liam Livingstone Atharva Taide Arshdeep Singh Nathan Ellis Sam Curran Kagiso Rabada Harpreet Brar Rahul Chahar Harpreet Bhatia Vidwath Kaverappa Shivam Singh Harshal Patel Chris Woakes Ashutosh Sharma Vishwanath Pratap Singh Shashank Singh Tanay Thyagarajan Prince Choudhary Rilee RossouwMumbai Indians Hardik Pandya c Rohit Sharma Suryakumar Yadav Dewald Brevis Jasprit Bumrah Piyush Chawla Gerald Coetzee Tim David Shreyas Gopal Ishan Kishan wk Anshul Kamboj Kumar Kartikeya Akash Madhwal Kwena Maphaka Mohammad Nabi Shams Mulani Naman Dhir Shivalik Sharma Romario Shepherd Arjun Tendulkar Nuwan Thushara Tilak Varma Harvik Desai Nehal Wadhera Luke WoodWith agency inputs