After a hat-trick of wins, the Mumbai Indians suffered a loss in a high-scoring, last-over nail-biter against PBKS at the Wankhede stadium. Courtesy of a sensational last-over from Arshdeep Singh, PBKS emerged victorious by only 13 runs.
MI leaked 214 runs, out of which 109 runs came in the last 6 overs. The fact that they scored 201 runs in reply means that MI need to look at only their bowling department for areas of concern before their next match, which will be against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday in Ahmedabad, another batting-friendly venue.
Here are 2 changes Mumbai Indians can make in their line-up after their loss to Punjab Kings:
Sandeep Warrier for Arjun Tendulkar
Arjun Tendulkar had had a decent start to his IPL career – decent swing with the new ball and he also nailed some fine yorkers – until he was smoked for 31 runs in an over by Harpreet Singh and Sam Curran which was also the second-most expensive over by a Paltan bowler in the history of the IPL.
The problem now is that Arjun hasn’t picked up a single wicket in the powerplay in the 5 overs he’s bowled in 3 matches in this phase. Against Punjab, Arjun taking the first over meant that Behrendorff, a new-ball specialist, bowled the second over followed by Green, whose overs MI have to fit in, and Archer came on to bowl in the 5th over. Arjun not taking a powerplay wicket is a big problem for MI.
If they bring in Warrier, a seasoned domestic campaigner, then Archer can have a crack with the new ball in the first three overs while Sandeep can be used later on. Arjun also isn’t suited for death overs while Sandeep has good domestic experience of bowling in the last few overs.
Kumar Kartikeya for Hrithik Shokeen
Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen has failed to make a big mark in the Indian Premier League 2023 so far: 15 overs across 6 matches for only 3 wickets at an economy of 9.93. Against oppositions lacking left-handers, Shokeen is rendered unused.
MI might ponder over bringing in left-arm mystery spinner Kartikeya, who can turn the ball both ways, while Tim David can bowl some off-spin when there is a left-hander on strike. Kartikeya played against CSK and returned with good figures of 1/24. He also had an impressive domestic season with Madhya Pradesh.
