MI lost a high-scoring thriller against PBKS in Qualifier 2 and lost the chance of qualifying for the finals after 5 years. The wait for the 6th trophy continues for both the five-time champions this season. MI couldn’t defend the target of 204 runs as PBKS ran riot on MI’s bowling line up with chasing down the target in 1 over remaining & 5 wickets in hand. Let’s look at the key reasons for MI’s defeat against PBKS.
Batters couldn’t convert the starts
MI batters got the starts, but lost their wickets in crucial stages of the game, which made them fall short by 10-20 runs. Rohit Sharma lost his wicket ( 8 off 7 ) to Marcus Stoinis in the 3rd over. They made him play the pull shot at the longer side of the boundary, and caught by Vyshak Vijayakumar in the deep square leg.
Jonny Bairstow ( 38 off 24 ) played a ramp shot against the slower one from Vyhsak Vijayakumar and was caught behind by the keeper in the 7th over. He couldn’t convert it into a big score. Surya and Tilak Verma built a brilliant partnership from there.
In the 14th over of the game, when Yuzvendra Chahal was bowling his last over, Surya hit 2 boundaries against him. He again went for a slog sweep in the 5th ball, couldn’t time it well, and was caught by Nehal Wadhera ( 44 off 26 ). MI were 142/3 in 13.5 overs.
Tilak Verma lost his wicket ( 44 off 29 ) in the first ball of the next over from Kyle Jamieson. He couldn’t pick the slower one and was caught by Priyansh Arya at the long on.
MI lost both the settled batters at the same score, 3 deliveries. Hardik Pandya couldn’t create a larger impact in the death overs ( 15 off 13 ). Naman Dhir ( 37 off 18 ) helped the team to cross 200 runs.
Poor bowling rotation
Hardik Pandya’s bowling rotation was not on par yesterday. He made some blunders in crucial moments, which cost them the match. He was shocked when Jos Inglis smashed Bumrah for 20 runs in the 5th over. MI didn’t expect this counterattack against Bumrah from PBKS.
Mitchell Santner bowled 2 overs and gave just 15 runs. He even created a chance for Nehal Wadhera in the last ball of the 9th over. But Naman Dhir was standing a few yards inside the boundary line and couldn’t reach the ball. But Pandya never used him after that.
Even Pandya himself had a good day with the ball. He conceded just 2 runs in the 8th over and dismissed the dangerous Josh Inglis. He went for 17 runs in the second over, but created a chance for Nehal Wadhera in the last ball, but Trent Boult dropped it.
Pandya introduced Reece Topley in the 13th over. Topley bowled fuller-length deliveries and conceded 3 sixes to Shreyas Iyer. The momentum completely changed towards Punjab in that over. MI bowlers didn’t try short balls and bouncers against Iyer.
MI tried to hit the good length area, but ended up landing in the slot, and feeding sixes to him. Nehal Wadhera is a good player of Short balls, but he got many bouncers and short balls. Shreyas Iyer brilliantly guided the Yorkers of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah to the third man and backward point for boundaries. So, he even negotiated the yorker plan, and MI bowlers were clueless against him.
Shreyas Iyer smashed 87 runs off 41 balls and finished the match in the 19th over by smashing in 4 sixes.
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