Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone's Blistering Partnership Puts PBKS in Command vs MI
Livingstone and Jitesh in action [iplt20.com]
Punjab Kings started from where they left against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and displayed a commanding performance against the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
It was the dependable middle order duo of Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone, who showed the way once again and posted a mammoth 214 for 3.
Jitesh, Livingstone take MI to the cleaners
A belter of a track awaits the two teams as Punjab were put into bat by Rohit Sharma. They had a nightmarish start, losing the in-form Prabhsimran Singh for just 9 on the board. Captain Shikhar Dhawan had a brief partnership with Matthew Short, but Piyush Chawla outfoxed the PBKS batter and Dhawan was sent back for a quick-fire 20-ball 30.
Matthew Short departed soon as PBKS were in a spot of bother with Mumbai Indians having their tails up.
But this is where the game changed and Punjab took over the driving seat. Jitesh and Livingstone were the heroes of the game against CSK, and they showed their worth once again with a partnership for the ages.
Both the batters stepped up on the accelerator and the game quickly changed to the fifth gear as the boundary floodgates opened.
Both the batters struck a fluury of boundaries that rattled the MI bowlers. Jitesh has built an aura this season, with his finishing abilities. The keeper-batter smashed Jofra Archer for three fours in a row and gave a knockout punch to the England seamer.
Then it was the turn of Archer's England teammate, Livingstone, who hammered him for three sixes in a row and that dealt a huge blow to Archer's confidence.
In the end, Livingstone fired up and remained unbeaten on 82. He was amply supported by Jitesh, who was with him at 49.
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
