On the 16th anniversary of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the tournament witnessed one of the most dramatic scripts that the crash, bang, wallop of T20 cricket can serve as Mumbai Indians pipped Punjab Kings by nine runs at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
With the top and middle-order razed, Ashutosh Sharma and Harpreet Brar threatened to turn the match on its head in a 10-ball 16th over, preying on Akash Madhwal’s fuller lengths. The over cost Mumbai 24 runs and left Punjab needing a comfortable 28 from four overs.
Jasprit Bumrah was still left with one over and the duo duly rode it out with three singles. But the ensuing shift in momentum had Ashutosh pulling the next over’s first delivery, bowled by Gerald Coetzee, straight to deep mid-wicket.
Fate gave Madhwal a second chance and helped him out when Kagiso Rabada was run out off the second ball of the last over, off which Punjab needed 12 with one wicket left.
With Ashutosh almost taking Punjab over the line, and Shashank Singh injecting the first ray of hope with a 25-ball 41 after the home side was reduced to 14 for four, the uncapped Indian duo was yet again left to do the heavy-lifting. Though the match ebbed and flowed, Punjab’s batting woes persisted and Jasprit Bumrah’s two-wicket first over, which accounted for Rilee Roussou and Sam Curran, only made matters worse.
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav continued to play Russian roulette, notching up a 53-ball 78 (7x4, 3x6) after scores of 0, 52, 0. The right-hander, though not at his most destructive, was still inventive with his shot-making.
With Mumbai going on the rampage in the late-overs after Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma’s 81-run stand for the second wicket, it was Harshal Patel, Punjab’s most profligate fast-bowler this year, who put the skids on the opposition by conceding just three runs in the final over.
Harshal mixed the yorkers and bouncers judiciously with his changes of pace to keep the batters guessing. Liam Livingstone and Brar conceded only 37 runs in five overs of spin and kept Mumbai below 200, which was still too much for the home side.
