KL Rahul notched his 24th IPL fifty as he, together with Chris Gayle, helped Punjab register a nine-wicket over Mumbai, who suffered consecutive losses. Rahul Chahar dismissed Mayank Agarwal for the only breakthrough for Mumbai, after he added 53 runs for the first wicket with skipper Rahul. 

Mumbai’s struggles at the Chepauk continued with another middle-order failure, scoring a lowly 131/6 against Punjab. Skipper Rohit Sharma Mumbai’s fightback, bringing up his 40th IPL fifty and forging a 79-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav, after the champions struggled to break off the shackles earlier in the innings, finishing with the lowest powerplay score this season.

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are taking on defending champions Mumbai Indians in match 17 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Chennai’s Chepauk on Friday. 

Also Read | IPL stars lucky as COVID-19 cases surge in India, says England pacer Chris Woakes

Here are the highlights of the match:

. That’s the match. Punjab have turned it around against the champions, transferring their losing streak to the defending champions.

. KL Rahul brings up 24th IPL fifty. (PBKS 110/1 from 16.3 overs)

. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul bring up their 50-run stand. (PBKS score: 105/1 from 15.3 overs)

. Chahar dismisses Mayank for the first Mumbai wicket. (PBKS score: 53/1 from 7.2 overs)

. 50 partnership for the openers. These two were immense last season and have to be again for Punjab to have any hopes of making the playoffs. So far, they are living up to the mark. (PBKS score: 50/0 from 6.2 overs)

. Rahul and Mayank have started well, buiding the platform for Punjab to chase down the lowly target and get their second win. (PBKS score: 45/0 from 6 overs)

. A great final over from Shami, takes two wickets and concedes just six runs to cap an impressive bowling performance by Punjab. (MI score: 131/6 from 20 overs)

. Another failure for Hardik Pandya, falls prey to Arshdeep Singh. (MI score: 122/5 from 18.5 overs)

. Shami gets the big wicket of Rohit Shama. (MI score: 112/4 from 17.3 overs)

. Bishnoi stikes to remove Suryakumar Yadav. (MI score: 105/3 from 16.3 overs)

. Skipper Rohit Sharma is leading Mumbai’s fightback, bringing up his 40th IPL fifty and forging a 50-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav. Gets to the landmark with a boundary off Bishnoi, who drags his leg-break a little too short, which the ‘Hitman’ cuts late and to perfection. (MI score: 81/2 from 13.2 overs)

. Bishnoi strikes to dismiss Kishan to put him out of his misery. Faced 17 balls to score just 6, and just like his team, he was really struggling to get going. Dismissed with a googly, which he edges to the keeper. (MI score: 26/2 from 6.6 overs)

. Mumbai finish with the lowest powerplay score this season, scoring just 21 runs from the first six overs. 

. Deepak Hooda strikes early to remove Quinton de Kock. The Protea southpaw dances down the track looking for a big hit down the ground, but the ball grips on the pitch which de Kock mishits straight to Henriques at mid-on. (MI score: 7/1 from 1.6 overs)  

. Good use of DRS by Rohit Sharma. Ball brushes off his waist and umpire signals out, but the Mumbai skipper goes for the review straight away, knowing the bat wasn’t involved. The replays proved him right and he’s off the hook. (MI score: 3/0 from 0.5 overs)

Punjab skipper KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first. He said his side lacked “cricket smartness” in their last game, which they lost against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, adding that the wicket looks “sticky and damp” and could get easier to bat on later. 

The Karnataka batsman named one change to his side, with Ravi Bishnoi coming in for Murugan Ashwin. 

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma said he would’ve chosen to bat anyways, as his team has learnt how to “bat as a group”. He also acknowledged his side have made mistakes and hopes to “put them to rest” today. 

Also Read | ‘Partnership with Kohli made it easier to hit boundaries in middle overs’: Devdutt Padikkal

The Mumbai skipper also said there were clouds overhead, so hopefully there wouldn’t be any dew later on. 

Playing XIs:

PBKS: KL Rahul (WK/C), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

MI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

Also Read | Virat Kohli becomes first player to score 6,000 IPL runs

Both teams have been marred by middle-order failures and come into the encounter on the back of losses. Mumbai were beaten by the Delhi Capitals in a repeat of last season’s final on Tuesday, while SRH recorded their first win of the season with a 9-wicket win over Punjab on Wednesday. 

Mumbai have won two of their four matches so far and are fourth on the points table, while Punjab have won just the one of their four encounters and occupy the seventh spot. 

The head-to-head record of these teams are pretty close, despite the gulf in success they have enjoyed over the years, with Mumbai winning 14 of their 26 encounters.