Mumbai: Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav struck blazing half-centuries but could not propel Mumbai Indians across the line as they went down to Punjab Kings by 13 runs in Match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Saturday.
After their bowling unit conceded 109 runs in the last six overs to allow Punjab Kings to post 214/8 after being asked to bat first by Rohit Sharma, Green blasted 67 off 43 deliveries and Suryakumar Yadav hammered 57 off 26 balls as Mumbai Indians could only manage to score 201/6 in 20 overs as they fell short despite a brave chase. Skipper Rohit Sharma smacked a 27-ball 44 but in the end, that effort went in vain.
Arshdeep Singh claimed 4-29 runs as PBKS came back strongly in the second half of both innings to register their fourth win in seven matches as they moved to fifth position on the points table.
Mumbai lost their way in the last two overs, needing 31 runs off the last 12 deliveries. Tim David and Tilak Varma blasted 15 runs off the 19th over bowled by Nathan Ellis with David hitting a huge six and both doing some hard running.
With Mumbai Indians needing 16 from the last over, Arshdeep bowled brilliantly, using the slower yorkers castled Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera off successive deliveries to snuff out Mumbai Indians’ hopes,
Though Ishan Kishan (1) got out early, skipper Rohit Sharma kept Mumbai on course with a 27-ball 44 as he and Cameron Green raised 76 runs for the hosts as they chased a stiff target of 215 in 20 overs.
Rohit struck the last ball of the first over by Matthew Short for four and tapped Arshdeep Singh past the vacant deep third-man area. He smashed his first six off Arshdeep in the fourth over with a lap shot and then pulled Sam Curran over the boundary off a slower one. After being kept quiet in the next couple of overs, Rohit Sharma hammered Rahul Charar for a big six and paddled the spinner for a four in the ninth over.
But just when it looked like Rohit Sharma had set himself perfectly to go berserk, the Mumbai Indians skipper got out tamely, spooning an easy catch to Liam Livingstone off his own bowling to be out for 44 off 27 balls, hitting four boundaries and three maximums.
Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav then raised 75 runs for the third wicket partnership, starting cautiously and then unleashing some power-packed strokes all around the ground. Green smacked Harpreet Brar over long-on for his first six and then edged Arshdeep Singh past the vacant first slip for a streaky four in the fourth over.
A boundary each off Curran, Nathan Ellis and Harpreet Brar amidst a number of singles kept him on the course before he completed his fifty with a six off Rahul Chahar. Green hammered Ellis for a six and four off successive deliveries in the 16th over before the bowler had the last laugh foxing him with a slower ball that Green lobbed to Curran for an easy running catch.
Suryakumar Yadav kept the Mumbai Indians’ hopes alive as he blasted 57 off 26 balls, hitting seven fours and three sixes. He smacked Liam Livingstone for a hat-trick of boundaries in the 12th over and then blasted Ellis for a six in the 13th over. A four and a six off Sam Curran as Mumbai reached 180/3 before Yadav got out, trying to flick Arshdeep past the midwicket.
With Mumbai Indians 182/4, Tim David and Tilak Varma struck a few lusty blows but in the end, their effort proved insufficient as they fell short by 13 runs.
Brief scores: Punjab Kings 214/8 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 55, Harpreet Singh 41, Jitesh Sharma 25; Piyush Chawla 2-15, Cameron Green 2-41) beat Mumbai Indians 201/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 44, Cameron Green 67, Suryakumar Yadav 57, Tim David 25 not out; Arshdeep Singh 4-29) by 13 runs.
