The depth of the Punjab Kings’ batting lineup enables them to approach their innings without fear. They successfully reached 200+ for the fourth consecutive game, an IPL record, courtesy to an unbroken 119-run partnership between Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma in 8.4 overs. They still came out on the losing end. And it was due to a T20 batting masterclass by Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who let Mumbai Indians successfully chase 215 just three days after they had also done so.
During their century stand, Livingstone and Jitesh swung, hit and sliced Mumbai’s bowlers all over the place, lifting Kings from 95 for 3 in the 12th to 214. Livingstone scored 82 off of 42 while Jitesh reached 49 off of 27 to fall one run short of his fifty-run mark. The points table, which now has four teams, including both of these teams, tied on 10 points, was further cluttered by Suryakumar’s 66 at more over two runs per ball and Kishan’s 75.
The race to the playoffs has undoubtedly heated up.
Suryakumar, Kishan bat fearlessly
After the powerplay, Mumbai was 54 for 2 as Cameron Green was dismissed following an appearance, and Rohit Sharma’s inconsistent run continued (he was out for a three-ball duck today). At 11.50 an over, another 161 were needed when Impact Player Suryakumar joined Kishan. By that time, Kishan had become comfortable after sprinting to 26 off 15 with two fours and two sixes. The needed rate had increased to 12.54 after three overs. And that’s when the slaughter started.
In the tenth over, Kishan chased down Harpreet Brar to get 14 points, then in the following over, he teamed up with Suryakumar to score 14 more points off Rahul Chahar. When MI were 100 behind with eight overs left, PBKS was still very much in it, but that is when the chase truly turned.
Suryakumar assisted in smashing 23 off a Sam Curran over; 6, 6, 4, and 4 came off successive acceptable deliveries, and this last boundary brought him to his fifty from 23 deliveries. When the game was almost over, Kishan went after Arshdeep Singh: 6, 4, 4. After that, Mumbai just needed 45 people instead of 30.
Mumbai Indians 216 for 4 (Kishan 75, Suryakumar 66, Ellis 2-34) beat Punjab Kings 214 for 3 (Livingstone 82*, Jitesh 49*, Chawla 2-29) by six wickets