Pune, (Samajweekly) A superb batting by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal followed by a brilliant bowling effort by Odean Smith (4/30) helped Punjab Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in an IPL 2022 match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Wednesday.
It was the fifth-successive loss for the five times champions Mumbai Indians as they remain the only winless side in the ongoing IPL 2022 season.
Invited to bat first, brilliant fifties by Shikhar Dhawan (70 off 50) and Mayank Agarwal (52 off 32) powered Punjab Kings to 198/5 in 20 overs. Apart from Shikhar and Mayank’s superb hitting at the top, Jitesh Sharma (30 off 15) and Shahrukh Khan (15 not out off 6) gave late flourish to Punjab’s innings at lower down the order.
Chasing a big total, skipper Rohit Sharma gave Mumbai an aggressive start by hitting a few cracking boundaries. However, Kagiso Rabada got rid of Rohit, who departed for 28 off 17. Vaibhav Arora then dismissed Ishan Kishan (3) to put Mumbai in more trouble.
With 32-2 after 4.1 overs, Mumbai needed a big partnership and two youngsters — Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis were in the middle. Brevis struggled to connect initially but in the 9th over of the chase, he found his touch and wreaked havoc, by hitting one four and four back-to-back sixes against India international Rahul Chahar while Tilak also continued his rich form as Mumbai raced to 105/2 at the end of the 10th over.
It was Odean Smith, who ensured that Brevis (49 off 25) did not get to his maiden IPL fifty, getting him out with a short delivery. Suryakumar, who came to bat next, hit over the fence for the first time in the 13th over off Arshdeep while Tilak (36 off 20) also fell in the same over – run-out at the non-striker’s end after a mix-up.
With Kieron Pollard (10) being run out while attempting a second, the pressure was on Mumbai as they needed 47 off 23 deliveries, with only Suryakumar being their last recognised batter. Suryakumar scored two successive sixes off Arora but Arshdeep bowled a fine 18th over under pressure, conceding only five runs.
The 19th over, bowled by Rabada, started with a boundary and Jaydev Unadkat sent Suryakumar back to the striker’s end when he wanted to take a single. Suryakumar (43 off 30) fell the very next ball, hitting a low full toss to Smith at long-on.
With 22 required off the final over, Unadkat pulled Smith for a six and took a couple. But he fell off the third delivery and the bowler added the wickets of Jasprit Bumrah and Tymal Mills to his tally during the over, finishing with a career-best 4-30. Eventually, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 186-9 in 20 overs, losing by 12 runs.
Earlier, openers Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave Punjab Kings a flying start, scoring 65/0 in the Powerplay. Both Mayank and Shikhar looked in fine touch, dealt in boundaries and were also helped by some wayward bowling by Mumbai bowlers.
Mayank, in particular was playing with a sense of adventure and targeted spinner Murugan Ashwin and scored his first half-century of the season. However, the Punjab skipper couldn’t continue his innings longer as Ashwin finally gave Mumbai their first breakthrough. Mayank went for a lofted drive but didn’t get to the pitch of the ball and Suryakumar Yadav took a good catch at long off as Punjab were 97-1 after 9.3 overs.
Once Mayank was dismissed, Dhawan took over the mantle of being the aggressor and completed his half-century in 37 balls. But, he didn’t get the required support from Jonny Bairstow (12) and Liam Livingstone (2), who came to bat next and couldn’t score big for Punjab. Bairstow was far from his best and was dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat while an excellent yorker from Jasprit Bumrah sent dangerous Livingstone back to the pavilion.
With back to back wickets and significant drop in the scoring rate, Mumbai were clawing their way back into the game. However, Dhawan decided to free his arms and hit Basil Thampi for six but the bowler had the last laugh. It was a length ball from Thampi and Dhawan hit it into the hands of the fielder at long-on.
From there on, it was the responsibility of Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan to finish big for Punjab and they didn’t disappoint their team. Jitesh played a blinder with a 15-ball 30 while Shahrukh in the final over smashed a couple of sixes and took Punjab Kings to 198/5 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Punjab Kings 198/5 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 70, Mayank Agarwal 52; Basil Thampi (2/47) beat Mumbai Indians 186-9 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 49, Suryakumar Yadav 43; Odean Smith 4/30) by 12 runs
