After half-centuries from Mayank Agarwal (52, 32b, 6x4, 2x6) and Shikhar Dhawan (70, 50b, 5x4, 3x6) helped Punjab Kings to a competitive 198 for five, Kagiso Rabada (2/29) and Arshdeep Singh (0/29) delivered with the ball to beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs at the MCA Stadium on Wednesday.
It was the fifth straight defeat for the five-time champion, which was cruising at one stage after teenagers Dewald Brevis (49, 25b, 4x4, 5x6) and Tilak Varma (36) put together a brilliant 84-run stand off just 41 balls for the third wicket.
Chasing 199 for victory, the Indians started poorly, losing openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the PowerPlay overs.
Then Brevis - nicknamed ‘Baby AB’ for his uncanny resemblance to AB de Villiers’ style of batting - defied his age with some sensational hitting.
After taking nine balls to get off the mark, the 18-year-old took on leg-spinner Rahul Chahar hitting him for a boundary and four consecutive sixes down the ground in the ninth over.
At the other end, Varma too joined the party, finding sixes and boundaries at will against Vaibhav Arora and Odean Smith (4/30).
After Brevis was dismissed for 49, two crucial run outs of Varma and Kieron Pollard due to mix-ups with Suryakumar Yadav on both occasions, hurt the chase.
Suryakumar tried to make amends with a quickfire 43 but once he was dismissed by Rabada, it was all over for the Indians.
Earlier, skipper Mayank and Dhawan provided a solid platform for the Kings after being asked to bat first, scoring 65 in the PowerPlay.
Kings skipper Mayank wasted no time in launching into pacer Basil Thampi with two superb cuts through the off-side in the first over.
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The Karnataka batter launched into M. Ashwin in the fifth over next, hitting the leggie for two boundaries and a six. Ashwin had earlier dropped Mayank, on 10, off Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling.
At the other end, Dhawan, though not at his fluent best, managed to hit boundaries through clever upper-cuts using the bounce apart from scoops towards fine-leg.
After Mayank’s dismissal, the Indians did well to pull things back, thanks to some terrific bowling from Bumrah, who nailed his yorkers with missile-like precision.
However, Jitesh Sharma provided the much-needed fireworks during his unbeaten 30 off 15 balls, hitting Jaydev Unadkat for two sixes and two fours in the 18th over. Shahrukh Khan then hit Thampi for two sixes in the final over, which in the end proved to be vital.
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