Punjab Kings (PBKS) have sealed their place in Qualifier 1 and will play on their home turf in Mullanpur after cruising to a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their final league match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. MI will play the Eliminator.
It turned out to be a comfortable chase for PBKS. Though they lost Prabhsimran Singh during the powerplay, a match-defining, second-wicket stand between Priyansh Arya and Josh Inglis put them firmly in control. Both batters looked in sublime form, bringing up their fifties and adding 109 crucial runs together, taking the team to the brink of victory before Shreyas Iyer finished it off.
After Prabhsimran’s departure, Inglis immediately put the pressure back on the bowlers and disrupted their plans. Priyansh complemented him, playing the situation with maturity, as Inglis took on the aggressor’s role. The wicketkeeper-batter used the crease well, while Priyansh consistently found the boundaries just as the required rate began to creep up.
Though MI managed to tighten things up with a few economical overs at the end, Inglis and Iyer kept the chase on track. Mitchell Santner eventually trapped Inglis in front, but by then, the damage was done.
MI’s innings unfolded in contrasting phases. In the first 11 overs, they posted 88/3 with 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes, scoring at 8 runs per over. The scoring accelerated in the final nine overs, yielding 96 runs for the loss of four wickets, at an improved rate of 10.66, featuring six fours and as many sixes.
Ryan Rickelton provided another promising start, but his innings was cut short by fellow South African Marco Jansen. The momentum dipped as wickets fell in quick succession — Rohit Sharma, who never looked settled, was dismissed, followed by Tilak Varma, Will Jacks and then the crucial wicket of skipper Hardik Pandya.
Suryakumar Yadav once again stepped up for his team and anchored the innings. Once past the 10-over mark, he stepped on the gas, launching an assault on the bowlers and racing to a half-century in the 19th over. He added 31 runs for the sixth wicket with Naman Dhir. However, Arshdeep Singh’s exceptional final over — which conceded just three runs and claimed both set batters —restricted MI to below 190. PBKS made changes to their bowling attack and the changes worked in their favour.
Whenever MI looked set to break free, the Punjab side pulled them back with crucial, well-timed wickets. The bowlers made smart use of variations in pace, and Vijaykumar Vyshak — playing only his third match of the season — stood out with an impressive performance, barring his final over, the 19th of the innings, which went for 23 runs.