Punjab Kings out-muscle Mumbai in Wankhede run-fest

Punjab Kings beat the Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring encounter at the Wankhede, edging past them by 13 runs, and pulling themselves up to the fifth position on the points table. Earlier, the Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl, with the hope that having a target in mind would be ideal on a high-scoring surface like the Wankhede.

The calm before the calamity

The first three overs of the Punjab innings, after being asked to bat by Mumbai, were sedate. The white ball was getting its few seconds of swing in the sun, as Arjun Tendulkar and Jason Behrendorff, and Cameron Green caused a few problems in the powerplay, including the wicket of Matthew Short, picked up by Cameron Green. 20-1 after 3 overs was the ideal start for Mumbai Indians. However, the over after that, Prabhsimran teed off, crashing 2 successive sixes off Behrendorff, in a 16-run over to announce the intent of Sam Curran's Punjab Kings. The last three overs of the powerplay cost Mumbai 38 runs, yielding a total of 58 runs within the field restrictions, at just under 10rpo. This was all set to be a sixathon.

An alarmingly long lull

...Alas, it was a false alarm. After Arjun Tendulkar snaffled Prabhsimran with a searing yorker, the scoring rate slowed down alarmingly, with wickets falling regularly. Despite a 101-meter six from Livingstone, Chawla picked up his wicket and that of Atharva Taide in the same over, to set Punjab back. It seemed to be Mumbai's game through and through, with Hrithik Shokeen and Cameron Green bowling some quiet overs to Harpreet Bhatia and Sam Curran, who were edgy and seemed in no hurry to score, and just 60 runs had come off 9 overs after the powerplay.

Turning Point - The Tendulkar over

...and then, it happened. Arjun Tendulkar, the last-over hero of the last match, lauded for his nerves of steel and his inch-perfect yorkers, completely lost the plot. In an 8-ball over that read 6, WD, 4,1,4,6, NB4, 4, he conceded 31 runs, including a wide and a beamer that struck Harpreet Singh on the arm. And from 118-4 after 15 overs, Punjab were 149-4 after 16, and now had the momentum to launch an unadulterated assault at the death. The next four overs cost 14, 25, 10 and 17, as the final five overs of the Punjab innings yielded 96 runs, with Sam Curran (55 off 26) and Harpreet Singh (41 off 28) accounting for a majority of it, before Jitesh Sharma joined the party with a 7-ball 25. The brutal assault in the final five overs meant Punjab ended up with a massive total of 214-8

An early hiccup, but a fluent start

Mumbai Indians knew they had to go big and they had to do it early. Ishan Kishan fell prey to the new swinging ball, as Arshdeep picked up a wicket off his first (legal) delivery. However, the arrival of Cam Green to the middle meant an onslaught was in order, and an onslaught it was: Rohit Sharma and Green kept turning over the strike and took toll on the bad balls, dispatching them for boundaries at will. It was a flat wicket, and every error by the bowlers was being severely punished. The two ended the powerplay with the score at 54-1 at a run-rate of 9rpo, but still short of the required rate, and after a few overs of attempting to cut loose, Rohit Sharma departed for a quick 27-ball 44, but Mumbai were reeling at 84-2 in the 10th over. They needed inspiration, and they needed it fast.

The SKY is Green

...and the inspiration came in the form of the back-in-form Suryakumar Yadav, who was back at his innovative, quirky best. Cam Green and Suryakumar Yadav launched an all-out assault, hammering 75 runs in 30 balls, at 15 runs per over, and at long last, they were caught up with the run-rate, and in with a realistic chance of chasing down a towering total. Green and Yadav brought up their fifties, the latter off 23 balls, his fastest. And just as they were threatening to run away with it, Green fell to Nathan Ellis (not before smashing him for a four and a six). However, SKY's wicket brought the Wankhede to a standstill, leaving two newcomers, Tim David and Tilak Varma at the crease to chase down 33 off 14.

Arshdeep thrives at the death

With 31 needed off 12, Tim David and Tilak Varma ran hard to pick up 15 runs off the penultimate over, leaving 16 runs to be scored off the final over to be bowled by Arshdeep -- not particularly unlikely given the Wankhede's reputation. However, some clever bowling from Arshdeep, who used changes in pace and yorkers perfectly, put up an exhibition of death bowling to knock over Varma and Nehal Wadhera, sealing Mumbai's fate and pushing them up to the fifth position on the points table.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 214-8 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 55, Harpreet Singh 41, Piyush Chawla 2-15) beat Mumbai Indians 201-6in 20 overs (Cameron Green 67, Suryakumar Yadav 57, Arshdeep Singh 4-29) by 13 runs

What's next? After a deflating defeat at their home venue, the Mumbai Indians travel to Ahmedabad to face the Gujarat Titans, who pulled off a stunning heist in Lucknow earlier today, on Tuesday (April 25). The Punjab Kings have almost a week to celebrate, as they travel back to their home city, and face Lucknow Super Giants in Mohali on Friday (April 28).