Summary of this article
MI welcome PBKS in IPL 2026 match number 23
Both the teams have had contrasting starts to the season
Prediction and likely XIs available
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians, led by Hardik Pandya, will find themselves under major pressure when they welcome Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten Punjab Kings in match number 24 of the Indian Premier League 2026 season.
Both the teams have had contrasting starts to their season with Mumbai winning just once in 4 outings and Punjab dropping just one point, that too, because their match in Kolkata got abandoned due to rain.
The runners-up from last season are in serious business mode and have literally blown away every opposition that has come their way. Their aim to go for back-to-back finals is very much a possibility.
Last season in the play-off, it was Punjab that had stood in Mumbai Indians' way, beating them by 5 wickets before losing to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final.
As for Mumbai, winning all two points will be very crucial for them to pick up some positive momentum. The top and middle order hasn't really clicked together with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma searching for runs.
MI Vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Match Prediction
Despite Punjab's unbeaten run still in tact, Mumbai are being favoured to win this game with a 56% chance according to Google's predictor.
MI Vs PBKS, IPL 2026: Likely XIs
MI: Ryan Rickelton (WK), Rohit Sharma / Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks / Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Markande
PBKS: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Arshdeep Singh
