MI vs PBKS

11:29 PM local time and IST: Four wins out of five for Punjab Kings, with one other being a rained-off game. Four losses out of five for Mumbai Indians now, with back-to-back defeats at home. The action now moves to Ahmedabad, where Gujarat Titans host Kolkata Knight Riders tomorrow, from 7:30 PM local time. Be sure to join us for that one, friends. This is Pradeep and Bidipto taking your leave for now. Keep following Sportskeeda!  

Arshdeep Singh (Player of the Match, 3/22 in 4 overs): "Feels really good! It goes back to having a chat with Ricky (Ponting). I told him that I wasn't feeling great about my bowling, then we had a long conversation, and after that, things changed! It was about how I can keep myself fresh. Nothing technical as such. He told me to stick to the basics and don't worry about coming from the World Cup with such a high, and falling slightly short. I'm trying to learn the scrambled-seam ball, I haven't perfected it yet, but, it's important in this format. I've been bowling a lot of wide-yorkers, turning into wides! But, it is about adapting to what the plans are and executing them. Loved the support! Lot of credit goes to social media! But, it's great to see so much support for us this season!" 

Shreyas Iyer [Punjab Kings captain]: "Confident and optimistic going forward. The way we are going, it's been phenomenal! It's a collective effort overall, and today, the victory was comprehensive. Last season, Prabhsimran (Singh) was giving us great starts. This season, he is taking it further and even finishing games off! His maturity is striking and getting better! I think my catch pulled things back (laughs)! But yes, we pulled things back really well and kept them time to under 200. Honestly speaking, we haven't decided on batting first as of now, but, we are ready for that opportunity. The guys are more than willing to put runs on the board. We have been focusing on going one match at a time and it is working. The fan-following is definitely going higher for this team!" 

Prabhsimran Singh [Punjab Kings]: "(On his innings) I backed myself, especially after not facing many deliveries in the powerplay. The plan was to take it deep and finish the game, and thankfully it worked out. (On his preparation) I spent a lot of time working with Yuvraj Singh in the off-season. He’s always encouraged me to bat longer and finish games, and that’s something I focused on. (On handling spin) The pitch was offering some grip, so the idea was to play the spinner carefully and target the others. (On the approach) Ideally, you make the most of the powerplay, but on days like this, it’s important to stay till the end. (On the captain) He’s in great form, and having him at the crease makes things much easier."

Hardik Pandya [Mumbai Indians captain]: "(On the defeat and areas to improve) To be honest, there’s not much to say right now. We need to go back to the drawing board and figure out where we’re lacking—whether it’s individuals, the team as a whole, or our planning. Those are the questions we need to answer moving forward.(On the match situation and opposition’s performance) At one stage, we looked set for 210 or 220, but credit to the opposition. The ball started reversing, and with the dew coming in later, conditions got better for batting. They outplayed us in all departments—bowling, batting, and fielding—and that made the difference.(On the approach going forward) This isn’t just about moving on quickly. We need to assess honestly—whether we stick with the current approach or make some tough decisions. Accountability is important, and we need to take ownership if we want to turn things around."

10:59 PM local time and IST: Punjab Kings win by 7 wickets with 21 balls to spare! 

Prabhsimran Singh 80* (39) | Arshdeep Singh - 3/22 (4)
Quinton de Kock 112* (60) | Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar - 2/31 (4)

Punjab Kings are making batting look ridiculously easy this season! Ridiculously easy! Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer, the batters in form, were all over Mumbai Indians, in the 5-time champions' backyard!

Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar did pick up 2 wickets today, and it seemed as though there were more waiting for him, but the way the 3rd wicket stand between captain and wicketkeeper-batter stood tall and maximized, took everyone's breath away!

Jasprit Bumrah, at backward point, dropped Prabhsimran rather early in his innings. That might well have proved to be the turning point! We were not sure as to why a fast bowler was placed at such an imporant fielding position, but, even then, that should have been taken. 

After that, the crowd, which was mostly blue, got treated to some magnificent shots! Off-side, on-side, along the ground, in the air, versus pace, versus spin, off the back foot, on the front foot - you name it, and both these batters were making this famed bowling attack look average. 

Later on, Naman Dhir dropped Shreyas, but two balls later, caught him stunningly! However, by that point, the job was done and so was the damage on the home side! 

As for MI, nothing went right, apart from those two wickets. The captaincy, the fast bowling, the fielding, the tactics - nothing quite went right. And guess what, Bumrah went for 41 runs in his 4 overs, without taking a wicket!

Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly didn't have the best of nights with the bat, but, Punjab Kings are simply unstoppable with the bat at the moment! They remain, the only unbeaten side of the competition, with 9 points, at the top of the table! 

16.3 Deepak Chahar to Marcus Stoinis, FOUR! GAME, SET AND MATCH! Punjab Kings humble Mumbai in their own backyard! What a statement win for this Punjab and they climb to the top of the table with that win! And, Mumbai lose four on the bounce with that, plenty to ponder! Low full toss on middle and leg, Stoinis whacked it through mid-wicket and splits the two fielders for a boundary to seal the game.

Dhava: "The Short ball ploy for Shreyas Iyer was a key mantra to get him out . But he improved very well to adjust that weakness . At a smallest term, is there a little " Sachin Tendulkar " in making, in the middle order ???"
Are you referring to Shreyas Iyer here, Dhava? Well, we think it's better we let him be Shreyas Iyer!

16.2 Deepak Chahar to Marcus Stoinis, FOUR! Low full toss, dipping into the batter. Stoinis early into the shot, comes off the inside edge and past the keeper, races away to fine-leg ropes. Just three needed now!