Punjab Kings push Mumbai Indians into elimination territory after a thrilling win

This loss has further decreased the Mumbai Indians’ chances to qualify, as the former 5 times IPL winners need to win 8 of their last 9 matches.

Skipper Mayank Agarwal and veteran Shikhar Dhawan help Punjab to post a challenging target

Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss for the Mumbai Indians and sent the Punjab Kings to bat first in match 23 of the current IPL season.

In the first inning, Captain Mayank Agarwal and opener Shikhar Dhawan paved the way for Punjab Kings. The veterans stood up to contribute a first wicket partnership of 97 runs in under 10 overs.

Captain Mayank Agarwal was the one who took on the mantle of the hogger in the partnership as he scored 52 runs off 32 balls. Agarwal, who was yet to deliver a promising performance in the batting department before this match, scored his first-half century in this season of the IPL with the help of his favorite off-the-wicket shots.

Veteran Shikhar Dhawan also patiently took care of things on the other end. However, he also picked up pace after Suryakumar Yadav caught Agarwal in the 10th over. Dhawan made 70 off 50 balls, an inning that consisted of 5 fours and 3 sixes, before being caught by Kieron Pollard in the 17th over.

Wicket-keeper batsman Bairstow could only score 12 runs, where as standout Liam Livingstone could not show fireworks in this match as Jasprit Bumrah bowled him for only 2 runs.

A last-minute contribution by Jitesh Sharma  (30) and Shahrukh Khan (15) helped Punjab Kings set up a target of 199 runs.

Odean Smith reclaims himself to lead Punjab to a nail-biting victory

Although Jasprit Bumrah (11/28 in 4 overs) was able to keep Punjab Kings in check under 200 runs, it was still a big target for Mumbai Indians to run down.

Captain Rohit Sharma and wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan led the charge for Mumbai and went on to form a 31 runs partnership before Sharma was dismissed for 28 runs. Kishan also followed suit in the fourth over and returned to the pavilion with only 3 runs to his name.

After two early setbacks in the powerplay, the youngster Dewald Brevis reignited hopes in the Mumbai Indians camp.

He went to score a quick 49 off just 25 balls. The inning was 4 fours and 5 sixes, and the majority of them came against Chahar, who had to pay dearly after losing his length. Chahar gave away 29 runs in an over, consisting of a four, followed by 4 consecutive sixes.

 Dewald Brevis left the crease in the 11th over with 116 runs on the scoreboard after being caught by Arshdeep Singh on delivery by Odean Smith. The onus then fell upon Suryakumar Yadav to take Mumbai Indians home. However, lack of a partner, on the other hand, didn’t help him, and he was finally caught in the 19th over after scoring 43 runs off 30 balls.

After Yadav’s dismissal, it was only formalities as Odean Smith picked 3 wickets in the last over to restrict the Mumbai Indians to only 186 runs. Punjab Kings won the match by 12 runs at the end of the 20th over of the second innings.

After a disappointing loss to the Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings will now look to set up a winning streak by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad on 17th April. In contrast, Mumbai Indians will look to get off the mark against Lucknow Supergiants a day before them.