Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya guided Mumbai Indians to a closely-fought 184 for 7 against Punjab Kings in a high-pressure IPL 2025 league match on Monday.
With the two teams fighting for a top-two place in the points table, Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer decided to insert first at a ground which has witnessed high-scoring games this season.
Suryakumar, having a dream run, hit a calm 57 of 39 balls, overtaking the great Sachin Tendulkar's 2010 record of 618 runs to become Mumbai Indians' top run-scorer in a season with 628 runs so far.
Opener Ryan Rickelton impressed with a poised 27 off 20 balls. Yet, for all the initial spark, MI could muster just 52 for 1 in powerplay, thanks to a well-drilled opening spell by Arshdeep Singh, who persistently swung the ball both ways and probed the batters.
Kyle Jamieson, who made his Punjab Kings debut, leaked a couple of boundaries in the first over but settled down soon. Marco Jansen, who was appearing in his last game of the season, had a bearing by sending back Rickelton with a well-placed short ball in the sixth over.
Punjab's bowling during the middle overs was particularly impressive. Harpreet Brar was an able replacement for the injured Yuzvendra Chahal, getting rid of Rohit Sharma (24 off 21) with a smart delivery that led to a miscued shot, taken wonderfully by Nehal Wadhera at long-on.
At 106 for 4 in the 13th over, Punjab had Mumbai in a spot of bother. Hardik Pandya survived a close call on his very first legal delivery when Vijaykumar Vyshak dropped a return catch. Vyshak, though, kept his composure and bowled with precision, claiming the wickets of Will Jacks and Tilak Varma with a wide-angle strategy that stifled MI’s scoring.
But the game tilted momentarily in the direction of Mumbai in the last but one over. Vyshak, who was having an impressive spell up to that point, leaked 23 runs as Suryakumar and Naman Dhir (20 from 12) found a late surge to propel the scoring rate.
The last over, bowled by Arshdeep, brought Punjab back into the match. The left-armer produced a masterclass spell in pressure situations, giving away only three runs and taking two wickets, stifling Mumbai's late rally.
Even though Punjab were tight with their bowling for the majority of the innings, Mumbai Indians' death-overs firepower enabled them to set a tough total of 184, leaving their hopes alive for a top-two finish.
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