Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 198-5 (Shikhar Dhawan 70, Mayank Agarwal 52; Basil Thampi 2-47) beat Mumbai Indians 186-9 (Dewald Brevis 49, Suryakumar Yadav 43; Odean Smith 4-30) by 12 runs
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) were back to winning ways in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 defeating the Mumbai Indians (MI) by 12 runs yesterday at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
PBKS held their nerve and successfully defended the target of 199 after remarkable fifties at the top from Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan powered them to 198-5 in their innings.
Chasing 199, Mumbai Indians started on a positive note scoring 21 runs off the first two overs.
However, PBKS did not take too long to claim their first wicket when Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma was caught by Vaibhav Arora at backward square leg. In the next over, form batsman Ishan Kishan was caught behind off Arora’s bowling.
MI were 42-2 at the end of powerplay but Dewald Brevis was quickly on the move, the right-handed batter hitting two fours and a six.
Not to be outdone Tilak Varma creamed two consecutive fours before Brevis dispatched four sixes in a row against Rahul Chahar as the ninth over which produced 29 runs.
Tilak Varma was also dealing in sixes at the other end and MI duly sailed past 100 in the 10th over.
Brevis got a reprieve on 49 but was caught off the next ball as PBKS scalped their third wicket of the innings.
MI required 68 off 42 deliveries after Tilak Varma was run out in the 13th over and Suryakumar crunched a maximum against Kagiso Rabada to bring MI closer.
With 49 required off the final four overs, MI lost Kieron Pollard, run-out for 10. However, Suryakumar Yadav lofted two sixes to get the equation down to 33 off the final three overs.
Arshdeep Singh conceded only five runs in the 18th over and MI required 28 runs off 12 deliveries. Rabada got the all-important wicket of Yadav, the right-handed batter being caught in the deep.
Odean Smith then gained some form of redemption when he scalped three wickets in the final over and PBKS got home by 12 runs in the end.
Earlier, PBKS, who were asked to bat first, remained unchanged from the previous game which they lost.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal got off the mark with two cracking shots for four while Shikhar Dhawan went one step further by hitting an aerial shot for a maximum to get off the mark.
PBKS were 36/0 after four overs and 17 runs came off the fifth over after Agarwal smashed two fours and a six against Murugan Ashwin.
At the end of powerplay, PBKS were cruising at 65/0.
PBKS continued striking at 10 runs an over as skipper Agarwal reached his half century with a maximum.
Agarwal’s fine knock came to an end after the PBKS skipper was caught by Yadav in the deep off of Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling.
PBKS were 99-1 at the halfway stage and opener Dhawan was joined by Jonny Bairstow, who lofted Tymal Mills’ delivery in the 13th over to score his first four of the innings.
After Dhawan’s half-century, MI fought back with two wickets in two overs. Jasprit Bumrah rattled Liam Livingstone’s stumps while Bairstow was bowled by Jaydev Unadkat.
With five overs to go, PBKS were 132-3 with Dhawan still at the crease. The left-hander clubbed a six on one knee against Basil Thampi before he was caught in the deep in the 17th over.
New batter Jitesh Sharma smacked two fours and as many sixes against Jaydev Unadkat in the 18th over while Shahrukh Khan hammered two sixes in the final over before he was bowled by Thampi as PBKS concluded the innings with a total of 198-5.
