Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings is one of those rivalries in IPL that doesn’t get enough attention from the fans, but somehow the encounter just surpasses all the expectations. Thursday’s match was no different, with an unexpected, late fightback coming from the PBKS. Unfortunately for them, the hosts fell short by only nine runs while chasing a mammoth total of 193 runs. Once again, it was Ashutosh Sharma for the PBKS who stood between MI and a win.
But before we deep dive into the solid match performances of the day, it is worth mentioning that with their third win, MI are now placed seventh in the IPL points table. PBKS, with only two wins are now languishing in the ninth spot, and one can assume that the campaign could all but be over for them.
Surya Doing World No.1 Batter Things
With an innings of 78 off 53 balls, the best T20 batter in the world, Suryakumar Yadav showed once again, why he is hailed as the new Mr. 360. On what looked like a difficult pitch initially, he smashed seven fours and three sixes to take his team to an over-par score. To be honest, such a performance was only expected from him.
Tilak Not Far Behind
Youngster Tilak Varma found a way to strike it better than Surya. He scored 34 from 18, and remained unbeaten in his small, precise innings. He also strung a crucial partnership of 49 with the senior pro Surya. His innings involved two towering sixes, and as many blistering fours.
Hardik & 140 Kmph
MI skipper Hardik Pandya quashed all the rumours of an injury with a single ball during his spell on the day. In one of the deliveries he bowled to Jitesh Sharma, he clocked 140.7 kmph on the speed gun. That means he is fully fit, and that in short means, good news for Team India, with T20 World Cup in sight.
Bumrah’s Magic
Jasprit Bumrah, for long has become a bowler who never disappoints. Even when all the other bowlers are leaking runs, he just finds ways to put brakes on scoring. In his spell of four overs, he returned with figures of 3/21, that broke the back of Punjab’s batting. Even Ashutosh Sharma could not do much harm to Bumrah.
14 Wides Means Penalty for Hardik
Mumbai bowlers ended up giving 21 runs through extras in the match. Out of those 14 were wides. That was poor considering, MI’s ability to finish up overs quickly was severely affected. As a result, MI had to face the punishment during the match itself, where the number of fielders outside the 30 yard circle were reduced to four.
IPL’s Best Finisher?
Ashutosh Sharma is only four matches old in the IPL, but has emerged as the best finisher in the tournament this year. His 28-ball 61 gave a major scare to the Mumbai side, ensuring that the rest of the teams will take him seriously from now on. In the tournament, he has scored 156 runs at a strike rate of 205.
