Mumbai Indians continued their comeback in IPL 2023 as Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan powered their side to a 6-wicket win against Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Winning the toss, MI skipper Rohit Sharma asked Punjab Kings to bat first. Cameron Green and Arshad Khan starred with the new white sphere for the visitors and right in the third ball of the second over, the left-arm pacer drew the first blood. Prabhsimran Singh, who had a strike rate of 153.8 before the match walked off even before the umpire signalled out after edging one behind the stumps.
Arshad was too frequent on the short balls and was taken aback by Shikhar Dhawan and Matt Short on certain occasions. The left and right-handed duo stitched 49 runs for the second wicket before the skipper was undone by a googly from Piyush Chawla.
The southpaw survived a few tough chances on two occasions and then was outfoxed by the veteran. Matt Short followed the skipper in a space of 24 balls. Once again it was Piyush Chawla who came to the rescue for the Mumbai Indians finishing with figures of 2-29 in four overs.
Right after, it was Jitesh Sharma who unleashed the inner beast against the MI bowlers. He was timing the ball as sweetly as it could and soon Liam Livingstone joined the party. The inexperienced bowlers in the form of Arshad Khan and debutant Akash Madhwal were tonked apart and even the experienced Jofra Archer wasn’t spared as well.
The Barbados-born cricketer was torn apart for three back-to-back sixes at the start of the 19th over by Liam Livingstone and the over yielded 27 runs. Archer finished with 0-56 after four overs. PBKS had already gone past the 200 runs mark, courtesy of a cracking century run stand between Jitesh and Livingstone.
Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone went berserk against MI bowlers
Meanwhile, Skipper Rohit Sharma handed the ball to the amateur Madhwal to deliver the 20th over. He aimed for six yorkers but few were overcooked. From conceding 28 runs in his first two overs, the Uttarakhand-based bowler gave away just three doubles and singles each, proving his worth under pressure. Livingstone finished with 82* off 42 balls while Jitesh ended up with 49* from 27 deliveries to propel the total to 214-3 after 20 overs.
After a disappointing start to the chase, courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s bronze duck, Cameron Green, and Ishan Kishan built on restructuring the castle. The MI skipper was dismissed right in the first over after Rishi Dhawan compelled the Indian skipper to shimmy down the strip and throw the kitchen sink. Ultimately Rohit was holed out to Matt Short at deep backward point.
Kishan and Green were watchful against Rishi Dhawa and Co. at the start and steadied the ship slowly and steadily. Anything loose was punished for a four by the duo. The Aussie was looking a bit scratchy and tried to change gears, but ultimately was holed out to Rahul Chahar at the cusp of the powerplay off the bowling of Nathan Ellis. The scoreboard saw 54-2 at the climax of the powerplay.
The Punjab-based franchise might think to seek a breather but Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan had other plans. The powerplay was followed by two silent overs as spin was introduced in the form of Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar. The two continued for three more overs but were taken down for 38 runs then and there. Kishan seemed like he had found his groove and Surya’s genius was once again in the spotlight.
The renowned pair of Mumbai took the game away from the Kings and narrowed down the margin. Sky whacked two sixes and fours against Sam Curran in the 13th over and welcomed carnage at Mohali for the nth time in the evening. The tag team chalked up 116 runs together and laid the foundation for Tim David and Tilak Varma to finish.
In the 16th over, Ellis was brought back and he delivered with the all-important wicket of Suryakumar (66 off 31). Kishan (75 off 41) followed him in the next over as Arshdeep Singh trapped the southpaw with the knuckle-ball.
45 runs off 23 balls was the assignment cut short in front of Varma and David who chased it down comfortably with 7 balls to spare. Some lusty blows mixed with cheeky strokes helped Mumbai’s cause to pocket some crucial points and leap above PBKS in the league’s points table.
Rohit’s men will now travel to Chennai to face the Super Kings on Saturday afternoon while Punjab Kings enjoy a brief break as they will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.