IPL 2023, PBKS vs MI | Who said what ft. Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
Mumbai Indians surged back to contention in IPL 2023 with another breathtaking victory over Punjab Kings at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. The visitors chased down a massive target of 215 to leapfrog their rivals and move up to sixth in the table despite having played a game less.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first in Mohali, a decision that eventually paid dividends. Punjab Kings found it difficult to gain momentum on a typical flat deck. They were down to 95/3 in the 12th over, before Liam Livingstone served a cold reminder of his abilities with a stunning 42-ball 82, and was ably supported by Jitesh Sharma who finished just one run shy of a half-century while striking at 181.48. The duo added 119 runs in just 50 deliveries, taking the team score to 214/3.
In response, Rohit Sharma fell for a duck and Cameron Green followed soon after, with the team still requiring 161 in 14 overs. However, the visitors responded with a formidable 116-run partnership of their own, theirs taking 55 balls, as Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan ran riot. The former was at his creative best in his knock of 66 studded with eight boundaries, while Kishan took the aerial root and struck four sixes to finish on 75 from 41 balls. Even after the two fell in the space of six balls, Tilak Verma ensured the team got across the line with seven balls and six wickets to spare courtesy of a heroic cameo of 26 runs.
The batting performances earned huge praise from the skipper as the pair gave due credit to the wicket in propelling them to the win, while Shikhar Dhawan expressed dismay with his team's bowling performance.
We started off nicely and thought it was a good total, but unfortunately were not able to defend it. Rishi Dhawan bowled really well at the start, but from the other end, we bowled a little too much outside off. Even to Suryakumar Yadav, we couldn't get our line & length. It was a good wicket and using cutters could have worked more I think Nathan Ellis bowled really well and other bowlers could not step up today.
One extra batter makes a big difference. The average score is around 180 this IPL. Just shows where the game has reached. Ishan Kishan and SKY batted brilliantly in the middle overs. Before the start of the tournament, we had a chat as to how we wanted to play our cricket. Not to think of the results. We want to go out there and just express ourselves. You will win one and lose one. Ishan Kishan has been working really hard for the last couple of weeks. He does pack a punch. I wouldn't say conceding 200+ is a worrying factor but three to four games we have conceded more than 200.
The wicket was good for batting, I kept for 20 overs and knew how it was playing. If it is in my hitting arc, I will go after it. I thought of stepping out and hitting as the Keeper wasn't standing up. The message was to watch the ball and hit. I think it doesn't matter much when you are chasing 215. Last game we did well and finished in the last over. I try to finish it as soon as possible. Happy with my performance.
Really happy that we ended up on the winning side but at the same time I felt that I should have finished the game again like the last time. When their innings felt, we knew we had to bat with positive intent. I just wanted to give support to Kishan who was playing with a good strike rate. I always prepare for these situations, if I have to get 12 or 14 runs an over, what are the shots I can play? So when I am sitting at the innings break or when the batters before me are batting that's what I think about. [On targeting certain bowlers] Till now I haven't thought about it. Unless it's the second-last or 17th or 18th over. My job today was just to support Kishan who was batting well. [On his partnership with Kishan] We reversed our role tonight. I actually don't have that power game. I like to time the ball and find gaps. But really happy that partnership was in a winning cause.