IPL 2023: Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav fireworks help Mumbai Indians chase down 215 against Punjab Kings

Mumbai Indians chased down a 200 plus total for the second consecutive match.

In the 2023 Indian Premier League as they stormed to a sensational victory over Punjab Kings at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday. Ishan Kishan (75) and Suryakumar Yadav (66) added 116 for the 3rd wicket to give MI their 5th win in 9 matches this season.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were dismissed in successive overs but Tim David Tilak Varma played sensibly to take Mumbai Indians home.

Mumbai Indians were chasing an identical 215 for the second time against Punjab Kings in the 2023 IPL and they got off to the worst possible start when Rohit Sharma fell to Rishi Dhawan for a duck. Cameron Green has played some stunning knocks for MI in his maiden IPL year but he too did not make much impact; Nathan Ellis dismissed Green for the second time this summer and the onus was on two of MI’s most destructive batters.

Ishan Kishan did not let the two setbacks affect his rhythm; he was in breathtaking touch on Wednesday on a fantastic batting pitch. Suryakumar Yadav who joined Ishan at the crease was audacious with his strokeplay and Punjab Kings had no answer to the expolisve duo. Sam Curran was taken apart by Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan was never going to be left behind.

Suryakumar Yadav is the best T20 batter in the world but he had a poor time with the bat not long back. He was dismissed for hat-trick of golden ducks in the ODI series against Australia and scored 15, 1 and 0 in the first three matches of the 2023 IPL. However, he turned it around with a 43 against Kolkata Knight Riders before a rapid 57 against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium last month and a 55 agaisnt Rajasthan Royals a few days back.

Ishan Kishan had hit a record-breaking ODI double hundred late last year and then there was a dip in form. In the IPL this year, he has not been in great form and had hit only half-century before his fireworks against PBKS on Wednesday. Like SKY, he reserved his best for a high-scoring game. The two added 116 runs in less than 10 overs to keep MI in the hunt for a huge chase. However, both men were dismissed in successive overs before the limelight turned on Tim David and Tilak Varma. The pair did not have to take too many risks and MI stormed to victory with 6 wickets and 7 balls to spare.

Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma made the most of Rohit Sharma’s decision to win the toss and bowl on a flat Mohali pitch. Punjab Kings have one of the strongest batting line-ups in the IPL and they desperately needed Livingstone to come to the party against the most successful IPL side in history. Arshad Khan had given MI reasons to cheer early when he dismissed the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh but Shikhar Dhawan smashed 5 fours in a 20-ball 30 to lay a strong platform for his team.

Shikhar Dhawan was looking dangerous and Matthew Short was getting into his groove with a couple of boundaries and a six but both men were sent back by Piyush Chawla, who stood out among MI’s bowlers who would soon be sent on a leather hunt by two dynamic PBKS batters.

Jitesh Sharma hit the first ball he faced from Jofra Archer for a boundary and he was relentless against one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. Liam Livingstone started more conservatively but he soon joined in the fun and took on Archer, his England teammate as the Punjab fans were treated to some scintillating shots.

If Arshad Khan felt bad about his figures (1 for 48 off 4 overs), he only had to look at Jofra Archer who gave away 56 runs from his 4 overs. Archer was hit for three successive sixes by Liam Livingstone as Punjab Kings eyed a strong finish. They had crossed 200 in the 19th over of the innings and were primed for a much bigger total than their eventual 214 for 3. However, Akash Madhwal bowled a brilliant last over, giving away only 9 runs.

While Liam Livingstone remained unbeaten on 82 off 42 balls, Jitesh Sharma stayed not out on 49 off just 27 balls. The two added 119 runs in 8.4 overs to give PBKS an excellent chance of moving into the top-two of the points table after Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings had to split two points following an abandonment due to rain in Lucknow.