Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the next game of the 2021 Indian Premier League season
Mumbai Indians meet Punjab Kings in the 2021 Indian Premier League.
The game is scheduled for 6pm UAE (3pm BST, 7.30pm IST) on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
The two sides will meet at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Since the restart, these two sides have put together one win out of five matches combined and are off the pace in pursuit of a place in the top four as we approach the final throngs of the group stage.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians have lost all three matches since the tournament got back underway. And they haven't been particularly close, going down to Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs, Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets and Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs.
Punjab Kings have been involved in two thrilling matches since the resumption. They lost by two runs to Rajasthan Royals after an inspired final over by Kartik Tyagi.
But Nathan Ellis kept his nerve in the final over against Sunrisers Hyderabad to secured a five-run success and knock the 2016 champions out of the competition and collect a much-needed fourth victory of the group stage.
Both sides are locked on eight points knowing neither can afford another slip-up.
Dafabet have installed Mumbai Indians as favourites for this one, offering odds of 4/6. Punjab Kings are available as outsides at 6/5.
But the bookies can't separate the pair in the six-hitting stakes, with both sides rated at 21/20 to hit the most maximums. There is some value in the tie however at 8/1
Ishan Kishan badly needs an innings of substance ahead of the World Cup, having made a dodgy start to the IPL in the United Arab Emirates.
Scores of 11, 14 and nine represent a poor start to the competition after he endured a less than ideal tour of Sri Lanka with an Indian second string.
Having blown opponents away in the 2020 edition, Kishan has just 107 runs in eight innings (13.44 ave, 86.99 SR) and with MI struggling for runs an improvement is required.
Captain Rohit Sharma said: "He is a talented player. He had a terrific IPL last year. We want to back his natural game. I don't want to put too much pressure on the guy. He is relatively young, making his way in international cricket."
Signed as a replacement for the No.1 ICC T20 batter Dawid Malan, there was plenty of pressure on Aiden Markram to perform for Punjab Kings, whose squad was refreshed during the enforced break.
The faith shown in him has already paid dividends, with knocks of 26* and 27 and he represents a calming presence at the top of the order amongst some big-hitting teammates.
Speaking after the win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, the South African said: "I found it tough, sort of anything with pace off, was holding on the wicket and even pace on balls, it was not coming on so it was quite tough.
"Naturally, they have a high-quality spinner in Rashid Khan and he was always going to be a handful on a surface like that. It was tough in general, very difficult to find a boundary, the outfield was thick. Tough day for batting but it is about learning and hopefully, we can improve as a batting unit."
Neither team have any major injury concerns. Hardik Pandya is fit again but he did not bowl against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Punjab Kings must decide whether to recall Chris Jordan but the complexities around trying to fit him into the XI could lead to him missing out.
The two teams have played each other 27 times.
Mumbai Indians wins: 14
Punjab Kings wins: 13
There is no let-up in the searingly hot conditions in Abu Dhabi with temperatures expected to hit 36 degrees Celcius, though winds could reach 12mph.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, a limited number of fans are allowed to attend games during the IPL's UAE leg.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neeshan, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar
Punjab Kings squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Nathan Ellis
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Adil Rashid, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami
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