Brilliant late-order batting by stand-in skipper Sam Curran, Harpreet Singh, and Jitesh Sharma followed by a sensational four-fer by pacer Arshdeep Singh saw Punjab Kings overcome Mumbai Indians by 13 runs a high-scoring Match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Saturday.
Punjab Kings were looking in trouble at 83/4 in the 10 overs before Sam Curran (55 off 29 balls) and Harpreet Singh (41 from 28 deliveries) raised 92 runs for the fifth wicket in quick time.
Jitesh Sharma then smashed 25 runs off just seven balls as Punjab Kings came back strongly to hammer 109 runs in the last six overs to take their team to 214/8 in 20 overs. It all started with Curran and Harpreet Smacking Arjun Tendulkar for 31 runs in the 16th over which eventually changed the complexion of the match.
Mumbai Indians looked on course for a memorable win as skipper Rohit Sharma (44), Cameron Green (67) and Suryakumar (57) played impressive knocks as the hosts set themselves up for a final flourish with 31 needed off the last 12 balls. Tim David and Tilak Varma took 15 runs off the penultimate over bowled by Nathan Ellis. It still looked like a Mumbai Indians game with 16 needed to win from the last over.
But Arshdeep had other ideas as he bowled a brilliant final over, claiming the wickets of Tilak Varma (3) and Nehal Wadhera (0) off successive deliveries with slow yorkers as Mumbai Indians eventually ended with 201/6 in 20 overs, falling short by 13 runs. Arshdeep was the best bowler for PBKS as he claimed 4-29 in his four overs and did what Mumbai Indians bowlers failed to do in the death overs, stem the flow of runs.
Though Ishan Kishan (1) got out early, skipper Rohit Sharma kept Mumbai on course with a 27-ball 44 as he and Cameron Green raised 76 runs for the hosts as they chased a stiff target of 215 in 20 overs.
Rohit struck the last ball of the first over by Matthew Short for four and tapped Arshdeep Singh past the vacant deep third-man area. He smashed his first six off Arshdeep in the fourth over with a lap-shot and then pulled Sam Curran over the boundary off a slower one. After being kept quiet in the next couple of overs, Rohit Sharma hammered Rahul Charar for a big six and paddled the spinner for a four in the ninth over.
But just when it looked like Rohit Sharma had set himself perfectly to go berserk, the Mumbai Indians skipper got out tamely, spooning an easy catch to Liam Livingstone off his own bowling to be out for 44 off 27 balls, hitting four boundaries and three maximums.
Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav then raised 75 runs for the third wicket partnership, starting cautiously and then unleashing some power-packed strokes all around the ground. Green smacked Harpreet Brar over long-on for his first six and then edged Arshdeep Singh past the vacant first slip for a streaky four in the fourth over.
A boundary each off Curran, Nathan Ellis and Harpreet Brar amidst a number of singles kept him on the course before he completed his fifty with a six off Rahul Chahar. Green hammered Ellis for a six and four off successive deliveries in the 16th over before the bowler had the last laugh foxing him with a slower ball that Green lobbed to Curran for an easy running catch.
Suryakumar Yadav kept the Mumbai Indians’ hopes alive as he blasted 57 off 26 balls, hitting seven fours and three sixes. He smacked Liam Livingstone for a hat-trick of boundaries in the 12th over and then blasted Ellis for a six in the 13th over. A four and a six off Sam Curran as Mumbai reached 180/3 before Yadav got out, trying to flick Arshdeep past the midwicket as Atharva Taide pulled off a blinder of a catch that changed the course of the match.
Earlier, from 83/4 at the halfway mark, PBKS’s stand-in skipper Sam Curran and Harpreet Singh took them past the 100-run mark and then beyond the 150-run line as they started repairing the innings. Curran started slowly, scoring three from the first 10 deliveries he faced. He shifted gears by hitting Green for a four in the 14th over to bring up the 100 for PBKS and hammered
Curran and Harpreet changed the complexion of the game by clubbing Tendulkar for 31 runs in a long 16th over that involved a wide and waist-high no-ball. Curran smacked down the ground the first ball for a six, the second legal delivery was edged through deep third-man, followed by a single to deep point.
Harpreet then drove the next delivery for a four over mid-off and followed it up with a big six off an attempted yorker that ended up as a full-toss. Tendulkar then bowled a waist-high no-ball that kissed the glove on way to four. Harpreet then added salt into the wound by pulling over the fine leg for four for 31 from the over, which is the joint-highest runs conceded by a bowler in an over in IPL 2023.
Curran and Harpreet slammed 80 runs from 30 balls as Archer was taken for 13 runs in the 17th over with Curran hitting him for a six and Harpreet helping themselves to a pulled-six behind square. Curran smacked Cameron Green for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over but Green made the vital breakthrough for Mumbai Indians as he yorked Harpreet Singh, who under-edged into his stumps to get out for 41 off 28 balls, hitting four boundaries and two maximums.
Jitesh Sharma slammed four sixes on his way to a 7-ball 25 as PBKS set Mumbai Indians a massive target which in the end proved enough for PBKS thanks to their bowlers, particularly Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 214/8 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 55, Harpreet Singh 41, Jitesh Sharma 25; Piyush Chawla 2-15, Cameron Green 2-41) beat Mumbai Indians 201/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 44, Cameron Green 67, Suryakumar Yadav 57, Tim David 25 not out; Arshdeep Singh 4-29) by 13 runs.
