IPL 2021, MI vs PBKS Match 42 Toss and Playing 11: Mumbai opt to bowl first, drop Ishan Kishan

Abu Dhabi, September 28: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first against Punjab Kings in Match 42 of IPL 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (September 28).

As for team news, Mumbai Indians have made two changes with Ishan Kishan and Adam Milne making way for Saurabh Tiwary and Nathan Coulter Nile. PBKS, meanwhile, rest Mayank Agarwal, who has a stiff neck and replace him with Mandeep Singh.

After opting to bowl first, Rohit said: "Just a team plan, nothing specific. It's a good pitch to bat on, so pretty simple actually. As a team we do understand where we stand at the moment and we also understand that we haven't played to the best of our potential. We know where we've made mistakes and hopefully we can correct it tonight."

IPL 2021: MI vs PBKS, Match 42 Live Updates: Mumbai Indians look to end the losing spree in UAE

On the MI team news, Rohit added: "Because of where we stand at the moment, we have had to make some difficult changes which we didn't want to do. A couple of changes: Ishan goes out and Tiwary comes in and NCN comes in for Milne."

Rahul, meanwhile, said: I was a bit confused at the toss. Don't mind batting first and we need to assess what a good total would be. Not much to fix, it's important to realize that we are a team that has capitalized on good starts.

On the pressure of PBKS making the play-offs, Rahul added: "We haven't handled pressure really well. But when our backs are against the wall, we have done really well. We need to be a bit brave and trust our instincts. We need to trust our basics and not worry about the results."

One position separates Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in the IPL 2021 points table ahead of tonight's match as Rohit Sharma's reigning champions are in seventh place with 8 points from 10 matches, while KL Rahul's PBKS are sixth with the same amount of points and a better NRR.

In the UAE leg of IPL 2021, MI have lost three in three, while PBKS have won one in two and that victory came in their most recent outing in the IPL 2021.

MI followed their defeats to Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders with a 54 run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore. PBKS, on the other hand, registered a 5 run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad to overcome heartbreak against Rajasthan Royals.

In the head-to-head battle, Mumbai hold a narrow lead over Punjab with 14 wins in 27 meetings between the two sides in the IPL. In the reverse fixture, PBKS defeated MI by 9 wickets earlier this year in May.

MI vs PBKS Playing 11s

Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma(captain), Quinton de Kock(wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

Punjab Kings XI: KL Rahul(captain/wicketkeeper), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh