Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, 23rd Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Indian Premier League 2022 Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune Date & Time: Apr 13, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Mayank Agarwal will be looking to lead his side from the front © BCCI

You can share your ideas and thoughts via the Twitter handle, @fancricket12. The best of tweets will be published on the blog.

PBKS seal a roller-coaster game

Oh, we have had another humdinger in the IPL 2022 and it is PBKS who come out on top this time after sliding to a heart-breaking loss in their last match. Guess what?? Odean Smith once again bowled the final over but such is the bittersweet nature of sport that this time he ended up on the winning side.

Having said that he had 22 to defend off the final over with Surya dismissed by Rabada in the penultimate over. He still mixed up his lengths and took three wickets in that over. Now that should boost his confidence.

The groundwork though was done by Arshdeep. The left-armer bowled a brilliant 18th over where he gave away only five runs. The way he charged from behind the umpire (round the wicket) made it difficult for Surya to pick the length. Surya then fell to a full toss from Rabada, which put PBKS in front.

Now a run out on a mis-field!

Oh, this is certainly one of those action-packed thrillers. Anything and everything can happen out there at the MCA stadium. There is a bit of mis-field from Odean and Pollard wants the second run. Not sure there was the second run but Pollard took the chance. However, we have seen it before that Odean has a good arm. He fires in a good throw and Jitesh breaks the stumps.

Never run on a mis-field. The old adage in cricket.

Twists and turns, plots and sub-plots

This game isn't for the faint-hearted. Arshdeep seemed to be in the middle of a good over. But he ended up overstepping. Surya couldn't do much of the free-hit but he soon tonked the six to put MI in front.

However, the next ball saw a terrible mix-up with Tilak run out at the non-striker's end. This feels like watching an action thriller with full of twists and turns, plots and sub-plots.

Lots of action and drama

The game is moving at a frenetic pace. Tilak joined in the act by tonking Vaibhav for a four and a six. It was followed by more drama and action. Brevis was dropped off Odean at third man. However, to his credit, Odean then did hit the deck hard and got it high up and Brevis could only pull it to deep backward square leg.

Much needed wicket but MI now need around 9 runs per over. It was hovering at around 12 a few overs ago. And the dangerous Suryakumar has walked out to bat.

'Baby AB' arrives on the big stage

What we have just seen in Pune???????? Brevis has gone on a hitting spree, smacking R Chahar for four sixes in a row. Two over long-on, one that cleared the fence wide of long-on and another one over deep midwicket.

Brevis didn't just showcase his immense talent but also a bit of batting smarts by staying back - fifth ball - and cracking it over deep midwicket. It was a seam-up delivery and he anticipated that it could be shorter in length.

'Baby AB' has arrived on the big stage!

using some hockey skills. A man on a mission 🙏 One of the shots of the tournament.

@Fancricket12

0 0

Mayank Agarwal - We didn't think about the toss and were prepared to do both. No changes in the playing XI for us, we've been playing good cricket, need to win the big moments. Jonty is a great personality, nice to have him around

Rohit Sharma - 'We will bowl first. Looks like a similar pitch to the ones we have played, there will be help for the pacer, need to exploit. Just one change - Tymal Mills is back, replacing Ramandeep. Just want the guys to keep their heads high, it's important not to lose focus, keep trying harder and harder to get the points. Looking forward to doing well as a team.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow(w), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi

"This is the fifth game at this venue and this is the first time we're playing on a used pitch, this was used for the first game played here. Being a centre wicket, the dimensions are pretty equal on both sides. With plenty of pace and bounce on offer, bowling short has been productive for the bowlers, although the batters have also made runs. There is an even covering of grass, toss might not prove to be a huge factor either," reckons Deep Dasgupta, in his pitch report.

Prelude:

Rahul Tewatia smashed sixes off consecutive balls against PBKS and there was celebration in his camp. On the other hand, Odean Smith, the bowler, was shattered. In a way, it encapsulated sports as a microcosm of life - full of ups and downs.

The Mayank Agarwal-led PBKS side would look to put that dispiriting experience behind them when they take on Mumbai Indians, who in turn are yet to win a game during this season's IPL.

Will Livingstone continue to blaze away for PBKS? Can MI and PBKS find the missing pieces of their bowling puzzle? All the action in a few minutes.