Punjab Kings Climb To IPL 2026 Points Table Top Spot, Mumbai Indians Ninth After 4th Straight Loss
Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer struck fluent fifties as Punjab Kings' winning run continued with a seven-wicket hammering of Mumbai Indians
Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer struck fluent fifties as Punjab Kings' winning run continued with a seven-wicket hammering of Mumbai Indians, who suffered a fourth consecutive defeat in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Thursday. Even as Quinton de Kock, with a brilliant 112 not out, and Naman Dhir (50) bailed Mumbai Indians out in the first half with a robust 132-run third-wicket stand, the hosts' 195/6 was never challenging enough on a docile track against the rampant Punjab batters.
Prabhsimran made a wicketless Jasprit Bumrah (0/41) and MI pay for a regulation drop early, smashing a strokeful 80 not out off 31 balls (11x4s, 2x6s), while skipper Iyer was in his elements, notching up his third fifty in as many outings with a 66 off 35 balls (5x4s, 4x6s), as the duo stitched together a sturdy 139-run stand for the third wicket.
Chasing 196, PBKS crossed the line with 21 balls to spare, scoring 198/3 as MI's bowlers continued to disappoint collectively, with AM Ghazanfar's 2/31 being the only performance of note.
Punjab were quick off the blocks as the first over from Deepak Chahar yielded 21 runs, putting MI on the back foot.
A pivotal moment arrived in the third over when Bumrah, stationed at short third, spilled a regulation chance off Hardik Pandya when Prabhsimran was on just 11.
Ghazanfar dismissed Priyansh Arya (15) and Cooper Connolly (17) to give Mumbai two elusive wickets in the powerplay, but the hosts could never capitalise on those breakthroughs.
Prabhsimran unleashed his rich repertoire of strokes, hitting a flurry of fours, while Iyer relished batting on his home track at the Wankhede Stadium, dispatching the bad balls with ease.
Their 139-run stand came off just 67 balls as Prabhsimran and Iyer eclipsed the first-innings heroics of de Kock and Dhir.
In the 16th over, a powerful pull from Iyer went through Dhir's hands for six, and the Punjab skipper then sent the next delivery from Shardul Thakur flying into the stands. However, a flick off the pads, lofted into the air, gave Dhir another chance, which he converted with a fine diving catch in front.
Earlier, a belligerent century from Quinton de Kock (112 not out) and a gritty 50 from Naman Dhir pulled MI out of the doldrums and lifted them to an under-par 195/6.
Confined to warming the bench so far, de Kock replaced Rohit Sharma and smashed his third IPL hundred to lead an inspirational fightback for the troubled Mumbai Indians, who had slipped to 15/2 in three overs.
The veteran Proteas batter was in his element during his unbeaten ton - a 60-ball 112 not out (8x4s, 7x6s) and his first IPL hundred since 2022 - clobbering the ball powerfully on the leg side and picking boundaries with precision and terrific timing on the off side.
Arshdeep Singh (3/22) swung the ball prodigiously and bowled immaculate lengths to snaffle two key wickets early on, while a third came late in the innings.
After beating Ryan Rickelton (2) persistently with deliveries that swung away, Arshdeep had the South African caught at deep square leg on a shortish ball. He was then all over India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0), luring him outside off on the first ball and beating him with swing to have a thick edge flying to short third man.
With Suryakumar back in the hut and Tilak Varma (8) out of sorts, MI took a punt by promoting Dhir to No. 4, and the right-handed batter repaid the faith with a gutsy knock.
Dhir was also lucky when on 10, as Yuzvendra Chahal spilled a sitter at short fine leg off Marco Jansen in the fifth over. He was fortunate again when a misjudgement in calling for a single in the next over did not result in de Kock being run out at the non-striker's end, as Shreyas Iyer missed the direct hit.
De Kock and Dhir put on 132 off 68 balls in a robust third-wicket stand that not only revived MI but also built a strong platform to push for a big total, though the hosts could not fully capitalise.
With strong bottom-hand strokeplay, Dhir struck three sixes and as many fours, playing the perfect second fiddle to de Kock.
In the 18th over, Iyer had his arms spread wide in celebration after he caught the ball off Hardik Pandya (14) while airborne near the ropes at long-on and hurled it to Xavier Bartlett for a superbly executed catch.
Mumbai Indians
Punjab Kings