In the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 12 runs. Clinical performances from Mayank Agarwal (52), Shikhar Dhawan (70), Jitesh Sharma (30*) and Odean Smith helped PBKS to attain two more points.
Punjab Kings had to bat after losing the toss. Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan were off to an electric start. The two batsmen tore apart the opponents’ bowling unit in the powerplay. The opening pair stitched a partnership of 97 within the first 10 overs. PBKS had the first casualty in the form of their skipper who was caught by Suryakumar Yadav. Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone didn’t make significant contributions with the bat. The fall of wickets didn’t bother Dhawan as he kept on scoring runs throughout his stay at the crease. The attacking opener was dismissed in the 17th over on Basil Thampi’s bowling. Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan were the two batsmen at the crease. Without taking much time to settle in, Sharma started smashing the Mumbai Indians’ bowlers in the slog overs. Shahrukh also joined the party and played a short cameo of 15 off six deliveries. With such firecrackers throughout the innings, PBKS set up a massive target of 199.
The five-time IPL champions yet again failed to cross the finish line. Genuine efforts from Dewald Brevis (49), Tilak Verma (36) and Yadav (43) went in vain as the team fell short by 12 runs.
Odean Smith was the pick among the bowlers for PBKS as he had four wickets to his name. Kagiso Rabada had two wickets while Vaibhav Arora gathered one wicket.
For MI, Thampi pocketed two wickets while Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah and Murugan Ashwin had one scalp each.
Following this fixture, Punjab have acquired the third spot with six points. The PBKS skipper was adjudged Man of the Match for his 52 off 32 deliveries with six boundaries and two maximums.
Scorecard:
Punjab Kings: 198/5, Overs 20, Shikhar Dhawan 70, Basil Thampi 4/47
Mumbai Indians: 186/9, Overs 20, Dewald Brevis 49, Odean Smith 4/30