Mumbai Indians (MI) returned to winning ways as they beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six wickets in Abu Dhabi to end their three-match losing streak in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Chasing a tricky target of 136, MI top-order struggled to put runs on the board as the reigning champions were reeling at 61 for 3 in the first ten overs.
But Saurabh Tiwary (45 off 37), Hardik Pandya (40* off 30) and Kieron Pollard (15 not out off 7) held their nerves and first rebuilt the innings before taking on the attack in the death overs to seal a win by the end of the 19th over.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah and Pollard claimed two wickets each as MI produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict the KL Rahul-led PBKS to a below-par total.
Aiden Markram (42 off 29) was the top-scorer for Punjab as he shared a 61-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Deepak Hooda (28 off 26) to guide their side to 135/6 after being reduced to 48 for 4 in 7.3 overs.
With today’s win, MI have jumped two places to be placed fifth with 10 points on the IPL 2021 table.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Good win for #mi Heat is on points table.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 28, 2021
Back in business.. Superb knocks by @hardikpandya7 #SaurabhTiwary Great win guys, let’s continue the good work👏👏 @mipaltan #MI #MIvPBKS #IPL2021
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) September 28, 2021
Coming back to competitive cricket after long and finishing it off in style 💙
Well played, Hardik 👏#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #MIvPBKS pic.twitter.com/cIFhrI1DrE
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 28, 2021
A champion comeback from a champion team #Mi. As a cricketer I see the hunger in a player! Really impressed with #RaviBishnoi #PlayerForTheFuture #PBKSvsMI #IPL2021
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) September 28, 2021
🎆 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium 😍
HP and Polly sent it to all corners to take #MI 🏠#VIVOIPLisBack | #MIvPBKS | #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/A4ZkkM8mVs
— Hotstar Canada (@hotstarcanada) September 28, 2021
Cometh the hour, cometh the Kung Fu Pandya 🔥#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MIvPBKS #IPL2021 @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/tpzCduK6ne
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 28, 2021
Mumbai Indians be like :-#MIvPBKS #Hardik #Mi #cricketmerijaan pic.twitter.com/AprpCfpBQt
— Himanshu Sharma🏴 (@Himanshu2534) September 28, 2021
Saurabh Tiwary in these second half of #IPL2021
Played 3 games scores
50*(40) aganist CSK
5*(2) aganist KKR
45(37) against PBKSWell played champ 👏💙 #MumbaiIndians
— THALA ❤️ MANI (@ThalaMani045) September 28, 2021
Crucial two points for Mumbai Indians.#MIvPBKS Scorecard: https://t.co/4sV2AGpU1u pic.twitter.com/vklICPtIEx
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) September 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/wakeup_sid22/status/1442911896051466242
#MIvPBKS
There is still hope for #MI to qualify for the playoffs pic.twitter.com/rQeUaFomB1— 𝗨𝗝𝗝𝗪𝗔𝗟🇮🇳 (@SarcasticUjjwal) September 28, 2021
Made a match out of a scanty total! 🙌🏻
Kudos for their efforts! #SaddaPunjab #IPL2021 #PunjabKings #MIvPBKS pic.twitter.com/Plgle7Ahko
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 28, 2021