In a battle between two teams in contrasting forms, the Mumbai Indians (MI) take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 24 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 16.

MI will be looking to taste victory after suffering three defeats on the trot. The five-time champions’ most recent loss came against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on home soil, where they fell 18 runs short of the target. Hardik Pandya’s side are currently ninth in the standings, with only a winless Kolkata Knight Riders side behind them in the table.

PBKS, on the other hand, remain the only unbeaten side left in the 2026 IPL. The 2025 finalists have won three out of the four matches and had a game rained off at the Eden Gardens. Shreyas Iyer’s side come into the game on the back of a six-wicket win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

PBKS’ in-form batters and bowlers face an MI side struggling with confidence. The 2020 champions, however, have one of the strongest squads on paper, which one should never write off. Some of the player match-ups in the upcoming fixture are a mouthwatering prospect for cricket fans across the world.

Here are 3 player battles for MI vs PBKS, Match 24 of IPL 2026:

3. Shreyas Iyer vs Mitchell Santner

After usually getting a quick start from the PBKS openers, Shreyas Iyer is usually the one who takes care of the scoring in the middle overs, where he will most likely have a face-off against New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner.

The duo have faced each other in just three innings in the IPL, with Santner failing to get the better of Indian batter even once. Iyer, on the other hand, has scored 20 runs at a strike-rate of 133.33.

2. Rohit Sharma vs Arshdeep Singh

A face-off with a lot of eyeballs on it, Rohit Sharma and Arshdeep Singh will resume their match-up at the top of the order on Thursday evening. Arshdeep is known for his swing, whilst Rohit likes to attack the new ball bowler in the powerplay.

The duo have faced each other on seven occasions in the IPL, with the left-arm seamer taking the prized wicket of his former India captain just once. The former MI captain, meanwhile, has scored 30 runs at a strike-rate of just 115.38. It is therefore hard to predict the winner of this match-up based on the close record on offer.

1. Priyansh Arya vs Jasprit Bumrah

Priyansh Arya has just faced six balls from Jasprit Bumrah in the IPL, where he scored seven runs. However, the contrast in the duo’s form makes this a worthy top-order contest when MI face PBKS on Thursday.

Arya has been scoring at a strike-rate of 264.10 in his three outings this season, while Bumrah has gone wicketless in his first four games of the new season. The right-arm pacer has also gone at an economy rate of 8.20, his highest since the 2015 season.