Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six wickets, seriously denting their playoff hopes on Thursday night. With their fifth consecutive loss, Punjab have slipped to fourth spot on the points table and are now in a spot of bother.
Batting first, PBKS posted a massive 200 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of some brilliant hitting by Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 57 and added a 33-ball, a 50-run opening stand with Priyansh Arya (27) to take PBKS to 55 for 1 in the powerplay.
They then added 57 runs with Cooper Connolly to cross the 100-run mark in the 12th over.
Just as PBKS batters were planning to go all-out attack, Shardul Thakur pulled things back with a four-wicket blitz to restrict them to 200.
Chasing the target, South Africa’s explosive left-handed batsman Ryan Rickelton took the charge and powered MI to 59 for no loss despite Rohit Sharma’s edgy 25.
While PBKS bowling tried hard to pull back momentum with three quick wickets, Tilak Varma anchored the innings with an unbeaten 33-ball 75 to guide MI to victory.
Punjab, which remained undefeated in the first seven games with six wins and one draw, has now suffered five consecutive defeats.
They have slipped from being table toppers in the first half of the season to fourth place.
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