Mumbai Indians on Wednesday moved closer to elimination after setting themselves up for their first win, only to lose for the fifth time in a row to in a high-scoring IPL thriller.
When Dewald Brevis (49 off 25 balls) and NT Tilak Varma (36 off 20 balls) were at the crease, a goal of 199 appeared to be within reach, but Punjab bowlers did enough to reduce MI to 186 for nine after 20 overs. Odean Smith (4/30 in 4 overs) redeemed himself after a dreadful final two balls against Gujarat Titans by taking two wickets in the final over for Punjab.
With this kind of bowling attack, Mumbai’s goal of eight victories in nine games is unrealistic.
If there was one bright spot, it was Brevis’s hitting. It took Brevis eight balls to get rolling, as he teed off with a cover drive and a straight shot off Arshdeep Singh. Smith eased his nerves with a pulled six before wreaking havoc on India international Rahul Chahar’s nerve.
Chahar lost length and then his bearings as one long hop after another was dumped into the stands after a boundary was followed by four big sixes.
The Baby AB’s development from boy to a man happened with that 29-run over which demonstrated that MI had made a 10-year investment.
He was eventually dismissed one short of his first IPL fifty, but not before leaving everyone wanting more.
Tilak, who had previously made an impression, displayed wonderful game sense by allowing Brevis do the heavy lifting before hitting some fantastic sixes of his own, including an outrageous slash over point off Smith.
The pair contributed 84 runs in just 6.5 overs to turn the match around, but their dismissals brought Punjab back as fortunes swung back and forth like a pendulum.
Suryakumar Yadav’s (43 off 30 balls) rhythm was off, while Kieron Pollard’s (10, 11 balls) season was becoming worse.
Surya finally took matters into his own hands, hitting a six over extra cover off Vaibhav Arora and then opening the face to slash it over backward point for a six as 33 runs were needed off the last three overs.
Surya was dismissed in the 19th over by Kagiso Rabada, who was caught in the deep by Smith, following which MI offered no opposition.
Mayank Agarwal, the captain, and veteran Shikhar Dhawan both hit half-centuries earlier in the day as Punjab Kings rode a strong start from the openers to post a formidable 198 for five.
During this edition of the league, Punjab Kings adhered to the “attack is the best form of defence” motto, adding 97 in less than 10 overs to give an ideal launchpad, but Jasprit Bumrah’s (1/28 in 4 overs) brilliance kept the score below 200.
The toe-crusher of Bumrah, which yorked the dangerous With 99 runs in the last ten overs, Liam Livingstone helped MI keep things under control.
Agarwal, who had been struggling with his form prior to this game, used his usual square off the wicket smashes on the off-side and straight spinner lofts to score 52 from 32 balls.
While Dhawan took his time playing the second fiddle, he kept the tempo up, allowing Agarwal to go all out during their stand. After that, he picked up the pace before being caught for 70 off 50 balls.
Mumbai’s domestic bowlers, such as Basil Thampi (2/47 in 4 overs) and Murugan Ashwin (1/34 in 4 overs), have been struggling match after match, but skipper Rohit Sharma has been left helpless due to a lack of choices.
Despite Thampi and Tymal Mills’ knowledge of Agarwal’s proclivity for making room and smashing through off-side, he was fed length balls outside the off-stump. When they bowled short, they made effective use of the pace.
The PBKS captain would come down the track to loft Ashwin straight, but he did got his man when Agarwal went for one shot too many.
Dhawan scored his 45th IPL half-century, but it was a contemptuous slog sweep off a 137-click delivery from Thampi that demonstrated his dominance.
Thampi avenged himself by trapping Dhawan in the deep, before youngster Jitesh Sharma (30 not out off 15 balls) hammered 23 off Jaydev Unadkat (1/44 in 4 overs) in the 18th over to reclaim the momentum that had lapsed following a few dismissals.
