Our boys have done it! We beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 13 runs at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, on Saturday, April 22.

“Pretty special. What an amazing ground. The environment is incredible here. It (the win) is a massive positive for us”, said Sam Curran, our skipper, at the post-match presentation.

Captain Sam Curran’s fifty with contributions from Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Jitesh Sharma helped us post a mammoth score of 214/8. Later, the Kings rode on Arshdeep Singh’s four-wicket haul to restrict MI to 201/6.

With this win, our team jumped to fifth place in the TATA IPL 2023 standings with eight points from seven matches.

Here’s how the high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede panned out:

Coin In Favour Of The Hosts:

PBKS captain Curran lost the toss. We were asked to bat first by MI's skipper Rohit Sharma. We made just one change as Prabhsimran Singh replaced Nathan Ellis in our playing XI.

Swashbuckling Start By Prabhsimran:

Our opening batter Prabhsimran Singh provided us with a blitzkrieg start at Wankhede. The 22-year-old smashed Jason Behrendorff for two monstrous sixes in the fourth over. In the following over, he slammed Jofra Archer for a maximum over the third man.

After Matthew Short (11) was dismissed in the third over, Prabhsimran was ably supported by Atharva Taide as we posted 58/1 at the end of the first six overs.

Prabhsimran (26) and Taide stitched a 47-run stand for the second wicket before the former was trapped by Arjun Tendulkar’s yorker.

Our star all-rounder Liam Livingstone announced his arrival by clobbering Archer for a 101-metre six. However, we suffered huge blows as Livingstone (10) and Taide (29) were dismissed by Piyush Chawla in the 10th over.

Curran Leads From The Front:

Skipper Curran joined Harpreet in the middle. The two southpaws counter-attacked the MI bowlers to put pressure back on the hosts.

Curran welcomed Cameron Green with a boundary to bring up our hundred. He soon hit Hrithik Shokeen for a maximum to change the course of the game.

In the 16th over, Curran and Bhatia took Tendulkar on a roll for 31 runs, the second-most expensive over by any MI bowler in TATA IPL history.

The swashbuckling duo continued to dominate as they slammed Archer for 13 runs in the next over.

Our captain’s hard-hitting skills left us in awe when he smashed Green for consecutive sixes. He and Harpreet added 92 runs off just 50 balls before the Indian fell to Green for a 28-ball 41.

In the 19th over, Curran smacked Archer for a boundary to bring up his fifty off just 26 balls. His scintillating knock was laced with five fours and four sixes.

Looking to up the ante, Curran was dismissed for a 29-ball 55.

Jitesh’s Crucial Cameo:

Coming in at no.7, our wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh played an excellent cameo of 25 runs off just seven balls to help our boys post 214/8. Jitesh smashed four sixes before he perished to Behrendorff. 

Arshdeep's Achievement:

Our star pacer Arshdeep provided us with an early breakthrough as he removed Ishan Kishan in his first over.

With that wicket, the left-arm fast bowler completed 50 wickets in the TATA IPL.

Livingstone, Ellis Kept Us Alive

Rohit Sharma and Cameron Green stitched a 50-run partnership to keep the hosts in the game. 

Livingstone got us our second breakthrough as he dismissed Rohit.

Suryakumar Yadav and Green also forged a fifty-run partnership to put some pressure on our bowlers. 

Nathan Ellis, who came in as our impact player, gave us some much-needed relief as he got rid of Green.

Arshdeep's Lethal Attack:

With 56 needed off 27 balls, Tim David joined Suryakumar at the crease. The pair added 23 runs before Arshdeep removed Suryakumar in the 18th over.

After conceding 15 runs in the penultimate over, Curran gave Arshdeep the final over to defend 16 runs.

Arshdeep showcased impressive death-bowling skills as he gave away just a solitary run in the first two balls before cleaning up Varma and Nehal Wadhera. He not only broke the stumps but also broke MI’s hope to defeat us. Arshdeep’s mastery helped us register our fourth win of the season.

Our boys will return to Mohali with unforgettable memories of stump-breaking and the joy of two points on the table. 

P.S. The Purple Cap suits Sadda Arsh!

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 214/8 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 55, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 41; Piyush Chawla 2/15) beat Mumbai Indians 201/6 in 20 overs (Cameron Green 67, Suryakumar Yadav 57; Arshdeep Singh 4/29) by 13 runs.

Player of the Match: Sam Curran.