A high-scoring affair in the Indian Premier League ended with Punjab Kings claiming a 13-run victory over Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Sam Curran’s 92-run partnership set the Kings on their way to setting a target of 215, which Mumbai briefly looked like they could knock off until Arshdeep Singh’s supreme final over.
After hitting Cameron Green for four in the third over, Punjab opener Matthew Short (11) went after his fellow Australian again next ball and ended up finding only the safe hands of Piyush Chawla (2-15).
Prabhsimran Singh was going well before a swinging yorker from Arjun Tendulkar trapped him lbw for 26, while Chawla claimed both Liam Livingstone (10) and Atharva Taide (29).
The Kings’ run rate slowed right down after that flurry of wickets, but Bhatia (41) and captain Curran (55) steadied the ship before stepping on the accelerator in the 16th over, hitting 31 runs from it, and a further 26 from the next nine deliveries before Bhatia played a Green ball onto his own stumps.
Curran reached his half-century before falling to England team-mate Jofra Archer (1-42), though Jitesh Sharma arrived and shone brightly but briefly as he hit 25 from just seven balls, before being bowled by Jason Behrendorff in the final over as the Kings finished on 214-8.
Ishan Kishan (1) fell early in reply, but Rohit Sharma and Green put on a partnership of 76 to take a chunk out of the imposing target.
Livingstone eventually removed Rohit for 44, caught and bowled from a sloppy shot, but Suryakumar Yadav picked up where his captain left off with a fiery innings.
Green smashed 67 from 43 balls before a slower delivery from Nathan Ellis saw him find the safe hands of Curran, but Suryakumar kept going, reaching his 50 from just 23 balls, though after getting his team back in the game, he was gone after hitting Arshdeep (4-29) straight to Taide for 57.
Tim David (25 from 13) forced a reachable final over chase, with Mumbai needing 16, but a superb six balls from Arshdeep, including two more wickets, ended any hopes as they could only manage 201-6.
Curran and Bhatia lay the table for success
It was very smart play by Curran and Bhatia to lay a calm foundation before piling on the runs, with their 92-run partnership the second-highest for the fifth wicket by a Kings duo in IPL history.
Punjab scored 96 runs off their last five overs, with only Royal Challengers Bangalore having struck more in the last five overs of an innings in IPL history (112 vs Gujarat Lions, May 2016).
Rohit reaches 250
It was a noble effort from Mumbai Indians as they chased a big target, with Green and Suryakumar making impressive contributions, though it was Rohit who achieved a notable landmark.
He became just the third batter and first Indian to reach 250 sixes in the IPL after Chris Gayle (357) and AB de Villiers (251).
He is also just one maximum away from becoming just the second player to reach 200 maximums for Mumbai in the competition after Kieron Pollard’s 223. (Sportsmax)
