Punjab Kings managed to arrest the run of three defeats in IPL 2021 at the expense of Mumbai Indians on Friday. KL Rahul’s men delivered a complete performance to clinch a comprehensive win by nine wickets against defending champions at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
After electing to bat, Punjab Kings managed to restrict Mumbai to 131 runs. Even though the pitch is difficult to bat on, it was a below-par score from Mumbai. Despite some resilience showed by Mumbai Indians bowlers, Punjab comfortably managed to chase down the score to register the second win of the season. Here are key takeaways from Mumbai’s third defeat of IPL 2021.
Mumbai’s batting woes in death overs continue
Playing five games in Chennai has hampered Mumbai’s batting in IPL 2021. They have only managed to post 150+ score only once in five games. They usually did well in powerplay overs but batting in the death overs has been below par considering the quality of good hitters in the team.
On Friday, Mumbai managed to get only 21 runs in powerplay overs. The approach of keeping wickets in hand was done to launch big in death overs. However, the defending champions failed again as they managed only 26 runs in the last four overs. Apart from the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai has failed to score big in the last four overs. With a change of venue from the next game, MI will be hoping that their batting woes will come to an end at the back end of the innings.
Punjab Kings adopt smart approach in chase pays off
Even though Mumbai got a below-par score on the board, Punjab had a tough on their hand since chasing in Chennai has been difficult during IPL 2021. In the end, it did look like a comfortable chase as the approach from the word go by Punjab was spot on.
KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal decided to cash in during powerplay overs. They ended up scoring 45 runs in the first six overs to make it easy for them in middle overs. Chris Gayle and Rahul took their time during middle overs, but the consistent rotation of strike meant that the run rate never went beyond seven runs per over. Once they were set, it was easy for them to get at least one boundary each over during the second half of the innings. The smart approach by Punjab ensured that they were never under pressure during the chase.
Ravi Bishnoi should start consistently for Punjab
Punjab brought Ravi Bishnoi in the starting XI on Friday. The youngster was the find of IPL 2020 for Punjab as he had managed to get 12 wickets last year. Bishnoi made an instant impact on Friday by taking two crucial wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. Moreover, his spell was economical as he conceded only 21 runs in four overs.
The wrist spin of Bishnoi makes him a very tricky customer for batsmen to negotiate. He can be a match-winner for Punjab if used consistently as he can bowl at multiple stages of the innings. KL Rahul explained in his post-match interview that Bishnoi had to work on few things before getting a chance in the team this season. Since he has made that adjustment, it is paramount that Bishnoi should be playing consistently in the rest of IPL 2021.