Mumbai Indians put on a batting masterclass as they registered their second consecutive win, beating Punjab Kings by six wickets in Match 46 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Chasing a mammoth target of 215, the away side rode on the brilliance of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed 75 off 41 and 66 off 31, respectively, to take the team over the line with two overs to spare.
Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma’s aggressive knocks had earlier powered PBKS to a daunting total of 214/3 in the first innings.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bowl. The Mumbai Indians began their bowling innings with a strong start as Arshad Khan removed Prabhsimran Singh in the second over.
Dhawan and Matthew Short then began to rebuild, with Short smashing a four and a six off Arshad and Dhawan following up with two consecutive fours off Chawla to bring the score to 50/1 by the end of the Powerplay.
Dhawan’s luck ran out shortly after, however, as he was stumped in the over of Chawla in the next over. After Short fell to Chawla’s googly as well, Jitesh Sharma quickly made an impact by cracking three fours off Archer to change the momentum of the innings.
Liam Livingstone then took charge, hitting three fours off Arshad to bring up a 50-run partnership off just 24 balls. Livingstone continued to dominate, bringing up his fifty off 32 balls with a thumping four over extra cover.
Although Akash Madhwal bowled an excellent last over to concede just 9, the home side still managed to amass 69 runs in the last five overs, finishing with a strong total of 214/3.
Watch PBKS vs MI match highlights –
Mumbai Indians started the chase on a shaky note, losing skipper Rohit Sharma in the third ball of the innings. However, Kishan and Cameron Green counter-attacked to give their team a solid foundation.
Kishan hit two sixes into the stands off Rishi Dhawan’s bowling before Green ended the over with a boundary to make it 17 off the over.
Impact Player Nathan Ellis then ended Green’s stay with a slower delivery, caught at deep mid-wicket, as MI reached 54/2 at the end of the Powerplay.
The introduction of Suryakumar Yadav as an impact player gave MI the boost they needed. Kishan reached his fifty off 29 balls, and Suryakumar Yadav brought up his fifty off 23 balls.
The latter then hammered Curran for 23 runs in an over, hitting two sixes and a four, to bring up the 100-run partnership with Kishan off just 52 balls.
PBKS needed a breakthrough, and it came in the form of a stunning catch by Arshdeep at short third man to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav. Kishan continued his assault, hitting two fours and a six off Arshdeep’s over to make it 21 off the over.
However, Arshdeep bounced back and sent Kishan back to the pavilion with a well-directed bouncer. Tilak Varma then stepped up and smashed three sixes and a four to bring the equation down to 21 off 18 balls.
In the end, Varma and Tim David remained unbeaten, with the former sealing the win in style with a massive six-over long off.
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