Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing XI vs Punjab Kings for Match 46 of IPL 2023

Mumbai Indians (MI) will face off against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 46 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday, May 3.

With four wins from eight matches, Mumbai are just behind the five teams currently deadlocked at 10 points. A win could take them closer to a playoff spot, but they will need to keep an eye on their net run rate.

The last time the two teams met in IPL 2023, PBKS won a high-scoring thriller. Arshdeep Singh held his nerve at the death, with Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav's efforts going in vain.

MI come into the game on the back of a thrilling win over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium. Tim David hammered three sixes in the final over bowled by Jason Holder as Yashasvi Jaiswal's stunning century went in vain. They will not want to make too many changes to their side.

Here is MI's predicted playing XI for Match 46 of IPL 2023 against PBKS.

Note: Playing XIs are bound to vary majorly in IPL 2023, with the introduction of the impact player rule as well as captains having the chance to name their side after the result of the toss is known.

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PBKS vs MI: MI Predicted Playing 11 vs PBKS in IPL 2023

MI made a couple of interesting changes to their side against RR. They replaced Jason Behrendorff with Riley Meredith and Arjun Tendulkar with Mohammad Arshad Khan.

While one of those changes paid off, with Arshad scalping three wickets to justify his place in the side, Meredith was expensive and hasn't looked the part in most of his outings this year.

Mumbai might be tempted to bring Behrendorff back into the mix as they desperately need some powerplay bowling threat. Another option could be to trust Chris Jordan, who has joined the franchise as a replacement player.

For now, though, the five-time champions could keep faith in Meredith, but the Aussie quick seems primed to go for runs. Jofra Archer's body hasn't held up well over the last few months, but he will hopefully be able to play consecutive games in a short timeframe.

Nehal Wadhera could be used as a batting impact player, while the bowling impact player could be a toss-up depending upon who among Kumar Kartikeya and Hrithik Shokeen is picked. PBKS have quite a few left-handers, and while Kartikeya has a few variations in his locker, the off-spinner might be the better option.

Shokeen's batting ability, of course, would mean that Meredith will go out if MI want to field the young all-rounder.

MI's predicted playing XI for Match 46 of IPL 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Jofra Archer, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Piyush Chawla, Riley Meredith.

Impact player candidates: Vishnu Vinod, Kumar Kartikeya, Sandeep Warrier, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen.