Josh Inglis sparkles after Priyansh Arya dazzles as Punjab move to the top after their bowlers restrict Mumbai Indians to 184 for 7
Vijaykumar Vyshak showed the way and followed as only offered genuine resistance. seamers alternated pacy length skidders with slower ones into the turf as lost wickets regularly.
If they face off Punjab Kings again in this tournament, ’ seamers would do well to stop feeding the left-handed Priyansh Arya on his preferred off-side. They need someone who can target the line around middle and leg, and not short at that. Inexplicably, they kept trying to slant the ball across him and the young languid batsman, who has the skill of letting his hands glide through the off-side arc, made merry.
Barring and Pat Cummins, not many pacers today are comfortable bowling that counterintuitive middle-and-leg line, and it showed yet again on Monday night.
Only , unsurprisingly, made an effort to tuck Arya up and was successful in getting leading edges and a mistimed drive or two, but it wasn’t enough.
What a way to reach your half-century! 🫡
🎥 Young Priyansh Arya continues his 🔝 form this season to lead ‘ chase ❤
need 49 runs from 40 deliveries.
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There were a series of boundaries off that stood out. The lengths varied from back of length to fuller, but Arya’s supreme balance, still head, and languid hand movement sent the deliveries flying through the offside.
The only real chance he gave was a surrender to the arm of at midoff on the penultimate ball of the 10th over after he had backed up too far down from the non-striker’s end, but the Mumbai Indians skipper missed, and that was it. He fell with 42 runs still needed, but Punjab had 32 balls left at that stage and they did it with 9 balls to spare.
Arya didn’t have to do it alone as Inglis was also on fire, slamming Mumbai all around the park. He too has a simple technique: a slightly crouched stance, cocked wrist and a good imagination. He can reverse-hit seamers, whip balls on the stumps to the onside, or drive similar deliveries inside out.
He pulled Deepak Chahar and Pandya for sixes over midwicket and when he collected a hat-trick of boundaries off Ashwini Kumar in 11th over- two reverse-scoops and a drill to long-off, Punjab were sitting pretty at 105 for1, a position of strength they never relinquished. Inglis kept driving, pulling, lapping the bowlers merrily.
, who is trying his best to win successive IPL titles as captain for two different franchises, ensured there wouldn’t be any drama post Arya’s exit with a couple of hits that eased up the load on Inglis.
Free-flowing and flamboyant 💪
Josh Inglis brings up a top-notch 5⃣0⃣ to put in control 👏
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The chase only seemed to go down till the end because Punjab wisely decided to respect Bumrah and not try anything outlandish against him. Inglis fell, missing an paddle off Mitchell Santner in the 18th over and was trapped LBW. But the equation was just 14 off 15 then.
And Shreyas twinkle-toed shortly to scoop-lift the Kiwi over the extra-cover boundary in some style to get it to 5 off 12. Off the third ball of the 19th over, he walloped Boult over the long-on boundary to clinch the game. In the dugout, coach was all smiles, hugging everyone in sight. And why not?
“It was a bit sticky when the pacers bowled, but at the end, I felt we were 15 runs short,” Suryakumar said after the first innings. He was proved right.
Even in T20s, Surya seems to have the time to pace the innings, hit out in the middle, pull back the reins a touch when the situation demands, and then open the run tap again. It’s a trait seen more often in ODIs, not many pull it off in T20s; Surya does.
And he needed that type of an innings to pull Mumbai towards a decently competitive total. The innings showed his skill, but also the pressure exerted by the Punjab seamers, who rallied back after a slow start. Surya had to keep adjusting his tempo to ensure Mumbai didn’t fold for far less.
Punjab’s bowlers had recovered after a slightly undisciplined start, finding the right pace and length on the pitch that had bounce, and also responded well to slower ones banged into the track. Vyshak, in particular, started the squeeze by alternating pace with off-pace, Marco Jansen and Kyle Jamieson picked it up as things started to slow down a touch.
Consistent Surya Kumar Yadav spearheads ‘s charge with 57(39) 👏
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But Surya was there at every step to hasten proceedings. Like he did with a 15-run 9th over, from Jansen, slamming a six over backward square-leg and thumping two boundaries.
He then slipped into the background, first letting Hardik free his arms for a breezy 26 and then Naman Dhir to slam a 12-ball 20 before picking up the baton again. He whacked two fours, over the bowler’s head and over point as 23 came off Vyshak in the 19th over.
But Arshdeep slipped in a superb final over, giving just three runs despite bowling four balls to Suryakumar who was dismissed off the last one, trapped LBW trying to reverse-sweep a yorker.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 184/7 in 20 overs (Surya 57; Arshdeep 2/28) lost to Punjab Kings 187/3 in 18.3 overs (Inglis 73, Priyansh Arya 62) by 7 wickets
