Mumbai Indians suffered their 5th loss yesterday against the Punjab Kings.
Winning the toss and choosing to bowl first in Pune, Mumbai put Punjab in to bat first.
Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave a solid start to Punjab Kings at the top and made 52 and 70 respectively.
English imports Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone did not get going.
Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan provided the finishing touches to the Punjab Kings’ innings and they finished off at 198/5.
Mumbai Indians had a stiff target of 199 to chase down.
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan tried to give a start to the Mumbai Indians but could not capitalise on the little that they had achieved.
Dewald Brevis, Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav put up a fight against the Punjab Kings.
But it was not enough as the rest of the Mumbai line-up fell like a house of cards.
Punjab Kings won the match by 12 runs.
Player of the Match
Mayank Agarwal for his 52 (32).
Post Match Reactions
Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians skipper said that they played really well in this game but the number of runs cost them heavily. Mentioned that they batted pretty well for the major part of the game and also gave credit to Punjab Kings bowlers. Added that they will need to keep fighting hard in the tournament. Also said that the Punjab batsmen got a great start in the first innings and they built up the pressure on the Mumbai bowlers. Ended by saying that 199 was easily chaseable on this pitch but the Punjab bowlers did bowl well in the end overs.
Mayank Agarwal, Punjab Kings captain said that he is very happy as skipper and that it was very crucial for the team to get those 2 points. Mentioned that there were a lot of ups and downs in the game but they managed to win the crucial stages of the game. Added that the message for the team was always clear before the start of the tournament that they will go hard with the bat. Mentioned that they played smartly in this match while also keeping wickets in hand. Also said that they had to change their plans when Verma and Brevis were batting but the run-outs changed the game completely for them. Ended by saying that they have the experienced Rabada with them but the other bowlers are doing well.
Next Match
Mumbai Indians will next play Lucknow Super Giants on the 16th of April at Brabourne Stadium while Punjab Kings will face Sunrisers Hyderabad on the 17th of April at Dr DY Patil Stadium.
