Suryakumar Yadav once again extended his impressive streak of scoring 25 or more in T20 matches, making it 14 consecutive times with a score of 57 off just 39 balls. This propelled Mumbai Indians to set a target of 185 for Punjab Kings, keeping them in contention for a spot in the top two. Suryakumar acknowledged that the pitch at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur was difficult to play on and admitted that they could have scored another 10-15 runs to make their position even stronger.
Entering the game during the sixth over, Suryakumar held his ground until the very last over. In addition to enduring a shaky middle period, he also joined forces with Naman Dhir to pick up the pace towards the conclusion.
In the penultimate over, Vijaykumar Vyshak’s fourth delivery proved to be costly as it went for 23 runs, sparking excitement for a thrilling finale. However, Arshdeep Singh stepped up in the final over and executed his yorkers flawlessly, limiting the opposition to only three runs. This solid performance by PBKS effectively sealed their victory in an impressive manner.
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In addition to the strong performances of Suryakumar and Dhir, Hardik Pandya also made a significant contribution in the lower middle-order, scoring 26 runs off 15 balls. This helped to give the team momentum before their final push, resulting in a total that they are likely to defend with confidence, despite being slightly below their target according to Suryakumar.
In his last game of the season before departing for national duties, South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton was in the lead until Rohit Sharma caught up. Despite being dismissed four times this season by left-arm seamers, Rohit initially struggled against Arshdeep and Marco Jansen. However, he soon found his rhythm and took on Harpreet Brar during the powerplay.
With a dominant stride, he aggressively swung over long-on and followed it up by lofting inside-out over cover. However, his impressive streak was cut short when Nehal Wadhera made an exceptional catch at long-on, resulting in his dismissal for 24 runs.
Rohit’s exit was preceded by a rough middle phase where two wickets fell in rapid succession. Hardik, who had only faced 39 balls in the previous six matches, and Suryakumar, who reached his fifty in 34 balls, then injected some energy into the game. Despite Mumbai Indians scoring 53 runs in the last five overs, there was a feeling that they may have failed to capitalize on potential additional runs.
In just his third game this season, Vyshak was poised to be the standout bowler, but in his last over, he surrendered four boundaries and ended with figures of 2 for 44. His teammates Arshdeep and Jansen also claimed two wickets each.
