Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings IPL 2026: PBKS have only dropped 1 point in this season due to a washed-out contest against KKR earlier this month.
Updated: April 16, 2026 2:17 PM IST
MI vs PBKS IPL 2026: IPL 2025 finalists Punjab Kings have enjoyed a flawless run in the IPL 2026 season so far with three wins in 4 matches and the only points they had dropped was due to a washed-out match against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month. Shreyas Iyer’s PBKS side have been on a roll as they head to Wankhede Stadium to take on five-time winners Mumbai Indians on Thursday.
PBKS will be hoping that the wet weather doesn’t follow them around to Mumbai and they can rise to the top of the Points Table with a win over Hardik Pandya’s side. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have lost three matches in succession – including one rain-hit tie against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati which was reduced to 11-overs-a-side contest.
The good news for the fans of IPL 2026 is that the weather forecast for Thursday evening is rather clear for match No. 24 between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. The temperature will be around 27 degrees Celsius in the evening but players will have to deal with high humidity of around 59 per cent in the city. However, the weather forecast for now says there is no possibility of rain at the moment.
Mumbai weather prediction for Thursday.
While rain and wet weather might not be a major concern for the two teams, the weather department have issued an ‘Orange Alert’ for the high temperatures in Mumbai. The maximum temperatures in the day time have already surged into the late 30s and with the high humidity, the umpires should brace for a lot of drinks breaks in the middle.
Even with the high temperatures, the last match at the Wankhede Stadium had fair amount of dew especially in the second innings of the game which might affect the captain’s decision at the toss come Thursday. The team winning the toss usually prefer to bat second given the fact that Wankhede Stadium is a fairly high-scoring venue.
What is the deadline to start a game in IPL 2026 league stages?
The IPL 2026 league stages don’t have any provision of Reserve Day. The IPL Governing Council will probably have Reserve Day from the Playoffs stages onwards as well as the final.
Both teams need to play a minimum of 5 overs each for it to constitute a match in the IPL 2026 league stages. If any match is affected by rain, the deadline to start a 5-overs-a-side match is 10.50pm IST as the game can be extended for one hour, according to BCCI rules.
