Mumbai Indians' (MI) dismal run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season continued after the record champions succumbed to their fifth straight loss of the campaign, this time at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 12 runs at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday (April 13).
Winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, MI were pegged back from the beginning, with skipper Mayank Agarwal and veteran Shikhar Dhawan hitting their first half-centuries of the season. PBKS added 97 runs in less than 10 overs to provide a perfect launchpad but Jasprit Bumrah's (1/28 in 4 overs) brilliance kept the score at 198.
Agarwal, who wasn't having the best season before this game, brought his customary square off the wicket shots on the off-side and straight lofts of spinners to score 52 off 32 balls. And Dhawan took his time playing the second fiddle but kept the tempo racing to let Agarwal go for the big runs. The veteran star finished with 70 off 50 balls.
Loss from a winning position
The target of 199 runs for their first victory of the season seemed easy enough, and fans felt confident that the win was coming their way after strong performances from teenagers Dewald Brevis (49 off 25 balls) and Tilak Varma (36 off 20 balls). The duo added 84 runs in just 6.5 overs to turn the match head-on before their successive dismissals brought the game back into Punjab's hands.
Brevis' upturn in form will be a major boost for MI, who scored a brilliant 25-ball 49, and his abilities were on display in the ninth over when he smashed in-form Rahul Chahar for 29 runs.
At the other end was Tilak, who has already made an impression in the IPL. The youngster showed great game sense by letting Brevis do the heavy lifting before he himself hit some marvellous sixes including an audacious slash over point off Odean Smith.
The Jamaican (4/30 in 4 overs) redeemed himself after the horror last two balls against Gujarat Titans (GT) as he picked up two wickets in the final over for Punjab.
For the MI batters, Suryakumar Yadav (43 off 30 balls) wasn't in the best rhythm, while Kieron Pollard's (10 off 11 balls) season just got from bad to worse. It was Surya, who took matters into his own hands with a six over extra cover off Vaibhav Arora and then opened the face to slash it over backward point for a six as 33 were required off the last three overs.
Kagiso Rabada then took matters into his own hands and removed Surya in the 19th over, caught by Smith in the deep after which there wasn't much resistance left from MI. The Punjab bowlers did well enough to restrict MI to 186/9 at the end of 20 overs.
With Mumbai now needing eight wins from their remaining nine games, a lot is on the line for the five-time champions.
