Mumbai Indians (MI) secured a commanding win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash on Thursday, May 14 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association in Dharamshala. It was Shardul Thakur's amazing spell of 4/39 in the first innings that restricted PBKS at 200/8 despite getting a fiery start.
Shardul Thakur removed key wickets like Prabhsimran Singh, skipper Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge and Marco Jansen. Apart from Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 57 off 32 balls, everyone failed to score big. Powered by Prabhsimran Singh's half-century and strong late finish by Azmatullah Omarzai (38 off 17) PBKS managed to post 200/8 at the end of 20 overs.
Shardul Thakur joins elite list
The impressive spell from Shardul Thakur against the Shreyas Iyer-led side made him the third bowler and first in 15 years to clinch four or more wickets in an IPL clash against Punjab Kings.
Earlier, Sri Lanka's legendary bowler Lasith Malinga was the first bowler to claim four wickets in an IPL game for MI against PBKS. Malinga finished the game with 4/22 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 2010.
After Malinga, India's Munaf Patel claimed a figure of 5/21 against Punjab Kings in 2011.
Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 75 powers MI to crucial win
Coming back to the game, MI started positively but lost wickets at regular intervals. Ryan Rickelton scored 48 off 23 balls, while Rohit Sharma managed 25 off 26 deliveries before departing. Naman Dhir also failed to make an impact, scoring just nine runs.
However, man of the match Tilak Varma anchored the chase brilliantly with an unbeaten 75 off 33 deliveries. The left-hander stitched together a rapid 56-run partnership in just 20 balls with Will Jacks, who remained unbeaten on 25 off 10 balls. MI eventually sealed the match by six wickets with one ball to spare.