IPL 2022 | Mumbai Indians still to open their winning account as they suffer five consecutive losses

It has been a horrible start to the Mumbai Indians' campaign as they lose their fifth straight game in match no. 23 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The Mumbai-based franchise became the first side in the history of IPL to start two seasons with five consecutive losses.

After deciding to chase and restricting the Kings to a total of 198-5, the MI openers were soon back in the hut, inside the powerplay, as skipper Rohit Sharma (28 off 17) failed to capitalize after getting a good start and Ishan Kishan was dismissed in the next over.

Earlier in the day, MI won the toss and opted to field first on a flat track. It was hard with an even covering of thin grass. PBKS got off to a blistering start, Mayank Agarwal was due, and he came good today. The skipper hammered the bowlers all around the park in the power play. 

Dhawan helped him on the other end, who was a bit watchful to start off but soon got going. The opening pair quickly took Punjab past the 50 runs mark, and in the power play, they scored 65 without losing a wicket. 

Murugan Ashwin's first over was expensive, but Rohit got him back into the attack in the tenth over, where he deceived Mayank Agarwal (52 of 32) with a tossed-up delivery, wide of the stumps. 

PBKS were on 97 when they lost their first wicket. Bairstow joined Shikhar Dhawan in the middle, who continued with his aggressive way and kept peppering boundaries.  

Mumbai got back into the game by dismissing Bairstow and Livingstone in quick succession. PBKS were 130-3 in the 15th over, and then Shikhar Dhawan too fell after scoring 70 runs off 50 balls. Everyone expected Odean Smith to walk in, but Jitesh Sharma came in and played a gem of a knock (30 of 15) with quickfire support from Shahrukh Khan (15 of 6) to take Punjab to 198 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Dewald Brevis (49 off 25) was in his element and emerged as the top scorer for MI and added 84 runs with Tilak Varma (36 off 20) for the third wicket. 

Suryakumar Yadav continued his excellent form as he scored 43 off 30 deliveries but failed to get any support from the other end in the final phase of the innings.

Vaibhav Arora (1-43) and Kagiso Rabada (2-29) bowled a magnificent spell in the powerplay alongside Arshdeep Singh (0-29), but Odean Smith was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 4-30 in three overs. Rahul Chahar had a forgettable evening with the ball in hand as he ended up conceding 44 runs in his four overs.

It's next to improbable and challenging for the 'MI paltans' now as they need to win eight out of their remaining nine games to stay in the contention to qualify. Well, this is not the first time they have been in such a circumstance, and they would like to replicate their heroics from IPL 7. On the other hand, Punjab Kings has jumped to number 3 in the points table with three wins in five matches. 

Brief Scores

Punjab Kings: 198/5 (20)

Shikhar Dhawan 70 (50)

Mayank Agarwal 52 (32)

Basil Thampi 2/47

Jasprit Bumrah 1/28

Mumbai Indians: 186/9 (20)

Dewald Brevis 49(25)

Suryakumar Yadav 43(30)

Odean Smith 4/30

Kagiso Rabada 2/29