Mumbai Indians picked up their first win in the second phase of the Indian Premier League, by defeating Punjab Kings at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Both the teams played their part well, but MI always emerged victoriously again. They secured a win over Punjab by 6 wickets with 6 balls left.
The match
PBKS batted first and put up a score of 135 with the loss of 6 wickets. Though none of the players were able to convert their small cameos to a big inning, Aiden Markram scored a good knock of 42 of 29 balls with 6 fours. Jaspirt Bumrah and Kieron Pollard picked up 2 wickets each with Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar picking up 1 each.
In the second phase of the match, the competition was 50-50 as Punjab got the wicket of Rohit Sharma early, and Quinton de Kock was not able to deliver big shots. The situation was becoming a bit tough for Mumbai, but then Saurabh Tiwary played a handsome knock of 45 of 37 balls with 3 sixes and 2 fours.
Also alongside Tiwary, Hardik Pandya played a handy knock of 40 of 30 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes, which is a good sign ahead of the T20 WC in October. Also, Kieron Pollard played a cameo of 15 of 7 balls, to help MI to get past the total.
Will Mumbai Indians qualify for the playoffs?
Mumbai Indians are very much on the race to the playoffs. With their win of today, they have gained 10 points and have moved to the 5th position from seventh. Though their run rate is on the minus, so it will be a bit tough for them to qualify in the top 2. But to be in the top 4 they need to win all their 3 remaining matches from now and also have to maintain a good run rate.
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