Despite producing a sensational batting display, our boys, Punjab Kings (PBKS), went down to Mumbai Indians (MI) in a high-scoring TATA IPL 2023 match on Wednesday, May 3.

Rohit Wins The Toss:

MI captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and put us into bat. We made three changes to our playing XI. Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short and Rishi Dhawan replaced Atharva Taide, Sikandar Raza and Kagiso Rabada.

Dhawan-Short Show In Powerplay:

Prabhsimran and captain Shikhar Dhawan opened our innings. They made 13 runs before Prabhsimran departed in the second over.

Short joined Dhawan at the crease. The duo played some scintillating shots to mesmerise the home crowd. We ended our powerplay at 50/1.

Unfortunately, we suffered another setback as our skipper was dismissed in the eighth over.

Livingstone Continues Impressive Form:

Our flamboyant all-rounder, Liam Livingstone, walked out to bat at number four. Livingstone continued his rich vein of form as he added 33 runs with Short.

We succumbed to another blow as Short was bowled by Piyush Chawla in the 12th over.

Jitesh-Livingstone’s Blitzkrieg:

Our wicketkeeper-batter, Jitesh Sharma, got off to a quick-fire start as he slammed Jofra Archer for 21 runs in the following over.

At the other end, Livingstone hammered MI’s left-arm pacer Arshad Khan for three fours in the 15th over to notch up a fifty-run partnership off just 23 balls.

Carnage In Death Overs:

The onslaught continued as Livingstone clobbered Akash Madhwal for a boundary to bring up his fifty off 32 balls. His brilliant knock included seven fours and one six.

In the 19th over, Livingstone smashed Archer for three consecutive sixes. After giving away 27 runs in his final over, Archer ended with figures of 4-0-56-0, his most expensive spell in TATA IPL.

Livingstone’s 82 off 42 balls and Jitesh’s 27-ball 49 powered us to a mammoth score of 214/3. The duo forged an unbeaten 119-run partnership off 52 balls.

We also became the first team to score 200+ runs in four consecutive matches in TATA IPL history.

Early Breakthrough:

Defending a considerable total, Rishi Dhawan got us off to a brilliant start as he dismissed the MI captain in the first over.

Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green forged a 50-run stand for the second wicket to keep the visitors in the game.

Nathan Ellis’ Instant Impact:

In search of a breakthrough, we introduced Nathan Ellis as our impact player in the final over of the powerplay. He instantly showcased his expertise by sending Green back to the pavilion.

Visitors’ Fightback:

After losing two wickets, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav resurrected MI’s innings. The pair added 116 runs off 55 balls to keep the visitors in the hunt.

Both the batters notched up their respective fifties in the process.

Ellis Brings Relief:

In the 16th over, Nathan Ellis provided us with another wicket as he dismissed Suryakumar Yadav to bring us back into the game.

Arshdeep Singh also joined the party as he scalped the huge wicket of Ishan Kishan.

A Heartbreaking Loss At Home Ground:

Later, Tim David and Tilak Varma forged a match-winning 38-run stand to take Mumbai Indians over the line. The visitors secured a six-wicket win in Mohali.

With plenty of positives to take from this game, our boys will bounce back stronger!

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 214/3 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 82*, Jitesh Sharma 49*; Piyush Chawla 2/29) lost to Mumbai Indians 216/4 in 18.5 overs (Ishan Kishan 75, Suryakumar Yadav 66; Nathan Ellis 2/34) by six wickets.

Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan.