The 2023 edition of TATA IPL (Indian Premier League) saw numerous exciting clashes over the course of the tournament. Punjab Kings (PBKS) was also involved in several nail-biters. One such encounter that not only stood out but also took the internet by storm was our away game against Mumbai Indians (MI). 

We clashed with MI at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on April 22, 2023. 

 

Prologue:

After losing the toss and being put in to bat first by MI skipper Rohit Sharma, we put up an incredible score of 214 for 8 on the board. Our stand-in captain, Sam Curran, was the highest run-scorer with 55 runs off 29 balls. Jitesh Sharma played an enthralling cameo of 25 runs from only seven balls by hitting four sixes in his short stay. 

 

Building The Momentum: 

Starting the chase, Arshdeep Singh took the wicket of Ishan Kishan with the first ball of his spell, thereby taking his 50th scalp in the IPL. But the MI skipper led his team from the front making 44 runs at a strike rate of nearly 163. 

The game started to slip from our hands as Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav looked unstoppable at the crease. Both the batters completed their respective half-centuries before Nathan Ellis dismissed Green. Bowling an incredibly high-stakes 18th over, Arshdeep stole the limelight by dismissing Suryakumar. 

With Tim David striking at over 190 and Tilak Verma at the other end, we were still in trouble. The equation for the hosts to win was down to 16 runs from the final over. It was now up to Arshdeep to take us over the line with the pressure mounting. 

 

That Last Over Drama: 

Tim David took a single off the first ball. The next ball to Tilak was a dot. As Arshdeep ran in for the third ball, little did we know that we were about to see a thunderous yorker! The ball rocketed into the middle stump, shattering it into two parts. Tilak was bamboozled, and PBKS fans rejoiced! 

A wicket in this fashion was nothing short of magical. 

Nehal Wadhera, MI’s impact sub, was the new man on the crease. Tim was still off strike. Everyone was still barely getting over the previous delivery when Arshdeep repeated his brilliance. Once again, he hit the middle stump, and once again it shattered in half. 

Jofra Archer kept out Arshdeep’s hat-trick ball, but by then the game was all but finished. Archer managed a single off the last ball and we won the match by 13 runs. 

Arshdeep pulled off a wonder over by showing what he’s best at - bowling in the death. His remarkable over gave us two crucial points to go back home with. His sensational style impressed Twitterati and also the captains of both sides. 

Our star pacer ended with figures of 4-0-29-4 while he gave away just 11 runs in his last two overs. Arshdeep’s disciplined bowling coupled with his stump-breaking wickets will be remembered for ages to come!