MI beat PBKS in match no.42 of IPL 2021 to keep their playoffs hope alive. They beat PBKS in a low-scoring affair by six wickets. Punjab Kings looked mediocre throughout the match as they couldn’t clinch the game for once as MI cruised to their first victory in the second leg of the tournament.
It was a team effort by the defending champions as they bowled brilliantly in the first half to restrict Punjab to a low score of just 135, and then thanks to brilliant efforts by their lower middle order, who successfully chased down the runs with an over to spare. MI is now standing strong at the fifth position of the points table, whereas PBKS are a step down to them at the sixth place.
Story of the match
1st innings
PBKS batting collapse
Punjab Kings only managed to score a mediocre score of 135 on a decent-looking pitch in Abu Dhabi. They scored at a rate of 6.75, scoring just 12 boundaries which included a single maximum. Their main reason for this collapse was their opening pair since the in-form Mayank Agarwal missed this match due to an injury. The new opening combination for this match of Mandeep and Rahul managed to score just 36 before Mandeep departed early, who was dismissed by Krunal Pandya. Also, their big guns couldn’t fire as KL, Gayle, and Pooran departed early without impacting the game. Aiden Markram scored 42 off 29 balls, which assured them of a total of above 130. Overall, it was a poor effort from PBKS with the bat in hand.
Solid Bowling by MI
MI’s bowling attack looked like the vintage MI bowling unit with Bumrah firing and the spinners coming into the act after a long time. Krunal Pandya opened the bowling, and it was a successful tactic as he bowled economically and also picked up the wicket of Mandeep Singh. It was then Pollard who, in a single over, picked up two big wickets to turn the match in MI’s favor. As usual, Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for this Mumbai team as he picked up two wickets and conceded just 24 runs in his quota of 4 overs. He was brilliant at the death, alongside Coulter Nile, as PBKS only managed 23 runs in their final four overs. Rahul Chahar and Coulter Nile also bowled economically, and it was a complete bowling effort by MI.
2nd innings:
Strong bowling effort by PBKS
Although the match was lost halfway after PBKS just managed 135 with the bat, however captain KL and his bowlers didn’t lose hope. It was a decent effort by the PBKS bowlers to stretch the game till the 19th over of the match. The star of their bowling effort was the young leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Bishnoi managed to pick up two big wickets of Rohit and SuryaKumar in two consecutive deliveries. Other than him, Ellis and Markram were good and bowled economically. Shami managed to pick up a wicket but was quite expensive in his spell of four overs, conceding at a rate of 10.5. The Kings from Punjab did bowl brilliantly until they stumbled in the death overs once again, which resulted in a defeat.
Saurabh-Pandya-Pollard to the rescue
After losing Rohit and Surya in quick successions, MI was struggling at 16-2, with Saurabh Tiwari coming in to face the hat-trick ball of Bishnoi. Saurabh replaced the out-of-form Ishan Kishan for this match. Saurabh and Quinton steadied the innings as they continued to score freely. Saurabh had the highest score of 45 in 37 balls for MI, scoring at a rate of 121.62. The explosive finishers Pandya and Pollard were able to build on his work. Pandya was the other star with the bat for MI. He scored 40 off 30 balls, striking at 133.33. Pollard and Pandya were slow to start, but they finished off tremendously to win the match for the defending champions.
Pollard: Unlocking Achievements
The mighty West-Indian all-rounder becomes the first and the only person on the planet to have achieved the feat of 10,000 runs and 300 T20 wickets. Pollard is a huge name when it comes to the shortest format of the game. He has played in many leagues around the globe and has delivered both with bat and ball in hand. Pollard achieved this feat against Punjab as he picked up two wickets in the same over. KL Rahul became his 300th wicket in T20 format. Pollard is a team man, and he certainly performs well for his captain, both with bat and ball. He is indeed one of the best all-rounders in the T20 format.
Summary
It was a tough night for KL Rahul’s men as they lost to the defending champions, who were desperate for a win in UAE this year. Both these teams are still in the fight for the top four, and this win will certainly boost the confidence of MI, as they resolve their middle-order batting issues and now look like a strong team on the field. PBKS still need to solve their worries and find the perfect playing XI, which will achieve them a place in the qualifiers.