Eleven games in, and the table still has us fourth. Just about.

Seven wins on the trot to open the season - and then a difficult few weeks that have brought the rest of the pack level. These things happen in a long tournament. What matters is that three games remain. This team knows how to fight back, and we have seen it.

Shers! We need two wins, and we're almost through. Thursday comes first, at our home in Dharamshala. So back the Kings at every moment in every fixture ahead.

Our opponents? Mumbai Indians. They arrive following a May 10 loss to RCB that ended their playoffs hopes. MI will aim to cause trouble on their only second visit to HCPA Stadium, courtesy of Rohit Sharma (820 runs vs PBKS) and Jasprit Bumrah (24 wickets vs PBKS), despite an indifferent 2026 season. Watch out for Tilak Varma and AM Ghazanfar too - quietly dangerous all year.

The batting has been there all season - Priyansh and Prabhsimran among the most destructive openers in the tournament, Sarpanch Saab holding the middle together, Marcus Stoinis capable of changing a game in a handful of balls. The bowling has teeth too, with Arshdeep paaji and Yuzvendra Chahal doing what they do.

Factors for a win? A bit more sharpness in the field, a bit more precision in the closing overs, and this team looks exactly like the one that went seven games unbeaten.

Home conditions, a crowd that shows up, and a game that matters. 7:30 PM Thursday.

Let's get it done.

Punjab Kings squad:
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod (wicketkeeper), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad