Mumbai Indians inched closer towards elimination after setting themselves up for their first win, only to slump to their fifth defeat on trot as Punjab Kings won a high-scoring IPL thriller by 12 runs on Wednesday.
A target of 199 looked imminently chaseable when teenagers Dewald Brevis (49 off 25 balls) and NT Tilak Varma (36 off 20 balls) were at the crease but Punjab bowlers did well enough to restrict MI to 186 for nine at the end of 20 overs.
Odean Smith (4/30) redeemed himself after the horror last two balls against Gujarat Titans as he got two wickets in the final over for Punjab.
Where most of the bowlers were leaking runs, there was one bowler, Arshdeep Singh, who stood out with the ball and remained economical which proved to be instrumental in Punjab's victory. Although he returned wicket-less but comprehensively kept things tight for the opposition.
Arshdeep even bowling a crucial 18th over to tilt the match into Punjab's favour. With 33 required off the final three overs, the 23-year-old just conceded five runs and finished his four overs at 29/0.
Although he returned wicket-less but comprehensively kept things tight for the opposition which earned him praise from former ex-cricketers. Among them was ex-India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who was mighty impressed with Arshdeep's efforts. Manjrekar was effusive in his praise for Arshdeep as he compared him with India's star pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the same breath Manjrekar rated Arshdeep above the seasoned India bowler as he said that the 23-year-old young gun is far better bowler than Bhuvneshwar to have in T20 side.
“India keeps going back to Bhuvneshwar Kumar - wonderful bowler. But today, we compare Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep, he is far better bowler to have in the T20 side - certainly in the top five," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
“Nobody is going to talk about Arshdeep Singh. Everyone’s talking about Odean Smith’s four wickets. But the guys who really made the difference were Rabada, picked up two huge wickets (Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav) and Arshdeep Singh. The first over went for 12, the second at the start went for nine by Rabada. Arshdeep gets the ball and concedes four and the 18th over just conceded five runs. So this is a guy who has been doing this for years now and those are the contribution when the match is slipping away, a five-run over with a set batter around him. Surya during that over took a single because he couldn’t get him away. That’s the ultimate hats off to the bowler,” he further added.
