Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan’s aggressive batting powered Mumbai Indians to outclass Punjab Kings


Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav struck blistering half-centuries to help Mumbai Indians (MI) recover from the Powerplay jolts and complete a mammoth 215-run chase against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday. Defeating the hosts by 6 wickets, MI became the first team to successfully chase 200+ in consecutive matches. Ishan top-scored with 75 off 41 while Suryakumar was seen in beast mode smashing 66 off just 31 balls at an outstanding strike rate of 212.90.

Batting first, Punjab Kings had a shaky start as Arshad Khan dismissed Prabhsimran Singh (9) early. But skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Matt Short scored runs at a quick rate, adding 49 runs before Ishan did brilliant work behind the stumps to send off Dhawan (30). Moments later, Piyush Chawla cleaned up short who chipped in with 27.

However, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma produced brutal batting and hit the MI bowlers all over the park. Both the batters returned unbeaten as Livingstone hammered 82 off 42, while Jitesh fell short of his half-century by a run. This pair added 119 runs in 53 balls and helped their side to pile up a gigantic 214/3 in 20 overs.

MI’s chase got off to a bad start as Rishi Dhawan bagged Rohit Sharma for a duck in the very first over. But Ishan and Cameron Green stitched a solid 54-run partnership before Nathan Ellis picked up the important wicket of Green (23). From thereon, it was Ishan and Suryakumar’s show on the field with their batting masterclass. Both the batters played some innovative and delightful shots to add 116 runs for the third wicket. After the two exited in quick succession, Tilak Varma provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 26 while Tim David returned 19 not out.