Punjab Kings chased 187/3 in a mere 18.3 overs to register a dominant seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The turning point for them was an authoritative 109-run stand between Priyansh Arya (62) and Josh Inglis (73) for the second wicket, which formed the foundation for the win.
This outcome effectively validates Punjab Kings' position at the top of the points table, courtesy of their better net run rate than Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). RCB can still try to catch up in points when they play against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians struggled to achieve steady batting contributions in the first innings, with Suryakumar Yadav's gritty 57 being the only one of note. He compiled his runs off 39 deliveries, showing not only aggression but also endurance as he anchored the innings while his colleagues were unable to cash in, eventually setting a total of 184/7 from 20 overs.
Punjab's pursuit started on a high note as Priyansh Arya hit two beautiful back-foot drives past the cover area off Trent Boult. Though Deepak Chahar stunned with a maiden over, Prabhsimran Singh went after Chahar's second over, hitting a six and a four, and Arya also added a boundary down the covers. This attack helped the team earn 16 runs in the fourth over.
Jasprit Bumrah got the early breakthrough by sending Prabhsimran Singh back to the pavilion, caught jumping high by Ashwani Kumar after attempting to drive a slower one hard—a catch that salvaged Ashwani from his earlier blunder of dropping the same batsman.
But the Inglis-Arya alliance soon wrapped the game in Punjab's favor with a combination of aggression and calmness. Inglis dominated the innings whereas Arya showed maturity above his age by letting Inglis dictate the chase. Inglis smashed a 76-meter six off Chahar as Punjab finished the power-play on a high note.
The turning point arrived when the duo targeted Mitchell Santner, who was successful in their previous game with a figure of 3-11, by pounding him for 14 runs right after the power-play.
Bumrah was brought back in an attempt to stop the association. Although his accurate yorkers restricted runs to five in an over, Inglis replied with three successive boundaries off Ashwani Kumar, crossing the 100-run milestone in the 11th over.
Inglis scored his first IPL fifty off 29 balls, while Arya got to his second fifty for the season in 27 balls, thanks to a four and a six off Hardik Pandya.
Santner was recalled and ultimately took Arya's wicket, though the game had already swung in Punjab's favor, and only 20 runs were needed from the final three overs. Santner proved to be a menace again as the ball struck Inglis' pads and was ruled to be hitting the stumps on an MI review.
The victory was sealed when Shreyas Iyer hammered a six from Trent Boult in the 19th over, completing a crucial win for Punjab Kings.
Mumbai Indians' innings began with a brash Ryan Rickelton (27), who struck three boundaries in the first two overs, while Rohit Sharma (24) found it hard to get into his groove.
Following the initial surge, Shreyas Iyer recalled Marco Jansen, who promptly removed Rickelton with a well-paced back-of-length delivery caught by the PBKS captain at mid-on.
Suryakumar Yadav targeted Kyle Jamieson—who was playing his first game of the season—as he had a fruitful 15-run over that consisted of two boundaries and a six.
Rohit Sharma could not capitalize on his start, getting out for 24 off 21 balls after a mistimed shot to Nehal Wadhera at long-on.
Middle order fell in no time with Tilak Varma (1) caught at third man by Arshdeep Singh off Vishak, and Will Jacks (17) bowled in the following ball by the same bowler. Jacks' six off long-on attempt resulted in a safe catch by Jansen.
Hardik Pandya (26) almost got a duck but eventually got caught off Jansen after he hit a six.
With two overs left, Naman Dhir (20) showed some ferocious hitting, hitting two sixes off Vishak's penultimate over. Yadav also contributed from the other side, scoring two boundaries and his fifth half-century of the season in 34 balls.
Arshdeep Singh took his sole wicket when Naman Dhir ducked into a short ball to Priyansh Arya at deep square leg. Arshdeep picked up well, allowing only three runs in the final over and getting Yadav LBW on the last ball.
For Mumbai, Marco Jansen, Vishak, and Arshdeep Singh each picked two wickets.
Summary Score:
Mumbai Indians – 184/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 57, Ryan Rickelton 27; Marco Jansen 2-34, Arshdeep Singh 2-28)
Punjab Kings – 187/3 in 18.3 overs (Josh Inglis 73, Priyansh Arya 62; Mitchell Santner 2-41, Jasprit Bumrah 1-23)
Punjab Kings won by seven wickets.
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