Shardul Thakur was taken to the cleaners first up by the batters, but he hit back hard and did the job here. Shardul Thakur is a wicket-taker, and he proved that for the Mumbai Indians by picking up 4 wickets as MI did well in the middle phase to come back before Punjab did well in the end overs. PBKS, thanks to Azmatullah Omarzai and Xavier Bartlett, apart from a half-century from Prabhsimran Singh, gave PBKS a respectable score on the board. This match can go either way.
Prabhsimran Singh gives PBKS a solid start in the power play
Put into bat first, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh came out to bat for PBKS while Deepak Chahar had the ball in hand for MI. Arya was off and running as he freed his arms and went inside out over cover point for a boundary. Captain Jasprit Bumrah came into the attack from the other end. Bumrah bowled onto the pads as Prabhsimran tucked it away for a boundary to the fine leg fence.
Then came the big moment in the game. Bumrah found the edge of Prabhsimran, and the ball went to Naman Dhir at first slip, who put down a dolly as Singh got a lifeline batting on 5*. Prabhsimran added insult to the wound by pouncing on the width offered and slashing it away over the backward point for a boundary. Chahar continued from the other end as Arya sat deep in the crease and pulled it over midwicket for a boundary.
Bumrah continued as Arya got underneath it and lofted it over the inner circle and in front of the square for a boundary. Arya hit a miscue shot but landed in no man’s land. Arya then hammered Bumrah away with a pull over midwicket for a boundary. Shardul Thakur came into the attack next. Arya hit another mistimed shot as the ball landed safely in no man’s land. Prabhsimran took on Thakur as he helped it on its way to short fine leg for a boundary.
Prabhsimran then whipped it away behind square and beat deep square leg for a boundary. Prabhsimran was in the mood as he rode the bounce and cut it behind square to the deep point fielder for a boundary. Deepak Chahar changed ends to bowl the last over of power play. Chahar gave away 4 byes as a bonus to the batting side. The 50 came up for the Kings in 5.2 overs.
Chahar hit back and got rid of Arya for 22 off 17 balls with 4 fours to his name by cleaning him up by knocking the middle stump over. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Prabhsimran then got a ball on the pads as he clipped it behind square for a boundary past the short fine leg fielder. At the end of the power play, PBKS were 55/1 in 6 overs with Prabhsimran Singh batting unbeaten on 27 off 17 balls, while Cooper Connolly batting unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls.
Shardul Thakur’s 3-wicket haul helps MI rip apart PBKS to keep the hosts on the back foot
Corbin Bosch came into the attack post the power play. Bosch then dropped a tough return catch of his own bowling as Prabhsimran got a lifeline as well again on 28*. Raghu Sharma came into the attack next. Connolly took him on as he got down on one knee and slammed a big heave down the ground for the maximum. The Strategic Time Out was taken at 67/1 in 8 overs, and we paused for the Strategic Time Out, the first of the evening.
Will Jacks came into the attack after the break as Connolly rocked back and punched it back down the ground past long-off for a boundary. Connolly was on a roll, as it made it hard to find the gap between third man and backward point for a boundary. Raghu continued as Prabhsimran took him on by going down on one knee and smashing the slog sweep over midwicket for the maximum. Singh went again as he picked the leg break, as he went down on one knee with a big stride and went with the slog sweep over midwicket for the maximum. After 10 overs, PBKS were 89/1.
Corbin Bosch returned for a fresh spell as Prabhsimran was on a roll, as he launched the ball over extra covers for the maximum. Prabhsimran got another life as Chahar, now at third man, was slow to react and could not take the catch. Prabhsimran got to his fifty in 29 balls. This was his 12th IPL fifty. The 100 came up for the Punjab Kings in 11 overs. Thakur came back into the attack as Prabhsimran smashed the ball across the line and cleared backwards square leg for the maximum.
Shardul hit back and got rid of the well-set Prabhsimran for 57 off 32 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name as he played the upper cut to deep third man, where Bosch took the catch. Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next.
Shreyas Iyer got off the mark with a boundary as he guided it down to short third man for a boundary. Thakur hit back and got rid of Shreyas for 4 off 2 balls with a boundary to his name as the ball rattled the off-stump. Suryansh Shedge came out to bat next. Raj Angad Bawa came onto bowl next. Bawa struck in his first over when he knocked over Connolly for 21 off 22 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name as he stayed leg side to play the shot and get knocked over. Shashank Singh came out to bat next. Shedge took on Raj as he got underneath it and lofted it over wide long-off for the maximum.
Thakur came to bowl his third over, and he got rid of Shedge for 8 off 5 balls with one six to his name as the batter hit it to short midwicket, who made no mistake. Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next as he flicked the ball away over his head for a boundary. Corbin Bosch came to bowl the 15th over of the innings. Omarzai picked up the length early and flicked it away to deep midwicket for the maximum. Bosch then removed Shashank for 2 off 3 balls LBW as the umpire’s finger went up. The batter reviewed in hope and saw the umpire’s call on hitting the stumps. The decision stood, and the review was retained as well.
Marco Jansen came out to bat next. After 15 overs, PBKS were suddenly in trouble at 135/6 in 20 overs with Omarzai batting unbeaten on 12 off 7 balls while Jansen was unbeaten on 0 off 2 balls. Important 5 overs coming up for both teams.
Late flurry amidst the flurry of wickets helps PBKS recover and post 200/8 in 20 overs
Jasprit Bumrah came back into the attack. He bowled a good 16th over. PBKS were 140/6 in 16 overs when we paused for the second Strategic Time Out of the innings. Shardul Thakur came to bowl the final over of his spell as he knocked over Jansen for 2 off 7 balls as the batter tried to heave it away, and the ball got the inside edge back onto the stumps. Impact Player Vishnu Vinod came out to bat next. Omarzai took on Thakur and lofted it down the ground over long-on for the maximum.
Deepak Chahar came back for his final over. Omarzai stayed deep in the crease and flicked it away to deep square leg for a boundary. Omarzai took on Chahar by pumping it down the ground for the maximum over long-off. Omarzai tore apart Chahar now as he cut it away over Naman at the backward point for the maximum. Deepak hit back and got rid of Omarzai as the batter mistimed the shot at long-on, where Will Jacks took the catch. Omarzai fell for 38 off 17 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name.
Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next. Bosch came to bowl the 19th over as Vinod drove it past Bumrah at mid-off for a boundary. Vinod took him on as he cleared Minz at midwicket, who lost it in the lights as the ball sailed over the fence for the maximum. Bartlett hit the ball hard down the ground past the bowler for a boundary. Bartlett went big again and went over Tilak Varma, who jumped, but the ball went over him for the maximum. 22 runs came off the 19th over.
Bumrah came to bowl the final over of the innings as Bartlett looked to drive it to long-on and got an inside edge past short fine leg for a boundary. The batters got a few twos and kept the scoreboard ticking, and there were wides as well. The 200 came up for PBKS in 19.5 overs. Bumrah appeals for LBW against Vinod, and the umpire gave it OUT. The batter reviewed, and the impact was outside the off-stump.
But since the umpire gave it out, the ball ended as a dot ball. Punjab Kings ended with 200/8 in 20 overs with Vinod unbeaten on 15 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name alongside Bartlett unbeaten on 18 off 7 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. 13 extras given by the fielding side.
MI bowlers had a mixed outing with the ball in hand. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/39 in 4 overs. Deepak Chahar chipped in with 2/36 in 4 overs. Corbin Bosch finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Raj Angad Bawa bowled an over for 11 runs and picked up a wicket. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 0/35 in 4 overs. Raghu Sharma finished with 0/22 in 2 overs. Will Jacks bowled an over for 9 runs. So, this meant that the Mumbai Indians needed 201 runs to win the match off 20 overs.
Who’s Winning, PBKS or MI?Â
It’s been a topsy-turvy innings for both teams. PBKS started well in the power play, MI hit back in the middle overs, while RCB had control back in the evening session. In the end, Punjab managed to post 200 on the board. MI has to bat well to get these runs, and once again, all eyes will be on the batting line-up of MI and how they perform.
Also Read: RCB vs MI: Krunal Pandya’s Sturdy Knock Trounces MI