Eager to bounce back in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) were desperate for a win when the five-time champions squared off against Mayank Agarwal-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) on matchday 23 of the cash-rich league at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Put in to bat first at Pune, PBKS openers Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan went after the Jasprit Bumrah-starrer bowling attack right from the word go at Pune.
While Punjab skipper Agarwal smashed a quick-fire half-century and surpassed legendary batter Rahul Dravid in an elite list, veteran opener Dhawan top-scored for the one-time runners-up to shatter multiple records. The former Mumbai and Delhi Capitals (DC) opener played a sublime knock of 70 off 50 balls to help Punjab post a challenging total. Dhawan, who was released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2022, shattered Suresh Raina’s record against Mumbai Indians.
The first player to score 800 boundaries, opener Dhawan also became the all-time leading run-scorer against Mumbai Indians in the cash-rich league. Dhawan and Agarwal’s half-centuries powered PBKS to 198-5 in the 20-over contest. Asked to chase down the mammoth target, MI opener and skipper Rohit gave the former champions a promising start. The Indian skipper scored a quick-fire 28 off 17 balls in the Powerplay. Though Rohit achieved a massive record by completing 10,000 runs, the batting icon failed to cash in on his start as he was dismissed in the 3rd over.
Staging an impressive fightback for Mumbai, Dewald Brevis aka Baby AB took Rahul Chahar to the cleaners by smashing four back-to-back sixes. However, Brevis’ stay was cut short by Arshdeep Singh who removed the on-song batter for 49 off 25 balls. The PBKS pacer also affected a brilliant run out of Tilak Varma (36) in the 12th over. At a time when was keen on rescuing the MI side in the death-overs, pace ace Kagiso Rabada sent the middle-order batter packing in the 18th over to put PBKS in the driving seat.
