IPL 2026: Punjab Kings pile pressure on struggling Mumbai Indians with commanding win
Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets thanks to blistering fifties from Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer, despite Quinton de Kock’s brilliant century in their IPL match in Mumbai on Thursday.
De Kock, who was sent in to bat, drove the Mumbai Indians to 195 for six with a brilliant, undefeated 60-ball 112. Together with captain Hardik Pandya (14), De Kock scored an additional 41 off 23 balls after forming a 122-run partnership with Naman Dhir (50) off 68 balls.
Arshdeep Singh (3/22) claimed three, while Shashank Singh (1/19) got one wicket.
Punjab reached the target in 16.3 overs thanks to a match-winning 139-run partnership between captain Iyer (66 off 35 balls) and Prabhsimran (80 not out off 39 balls). Two wickets were taken by AM Ghazanfar (2/31).
De Kock, who had been limited to warming the bench thus far, replaced the injured Rohit Sharma and scored his third IPL century to spearhead an inspiring comeback for the struggling Mumbai Indians, who had fallen to 15/2 in three overs with their backs against the wall.
During his undefeated ton—a 60-ball 112 not out (8x4s, 7x6s) and his first in the IPL since 2022—the seasoned South African was in his elements. He hit the ball hard on the leg-side and picked boundaries with accuracy and excellent timing on the off.
India pacer Arshdeep Singh took two crucial wickets early in the innings by swinging the ball perilously with perfect lengths. A third wicket came late in the innings. Arshdeep had Ryan Rickelton (2) caught at deep square leg on a shortish ball after repeatedly beating the South African with deliveries that swung away from the left-hander.
He was all over Suryakumar Yadav (0), the captain of India T20I, tempting him outside off on the opening delivery and dismissing him with the swing to have a thick edge going to short third.
MI decided to promote Dhir at No. 4 because Suryakumar was back in the hut and Tilak Varma (8) wasn’t feeling well. The right-handed batter returned the favor with a brave knock that needed patience.
Dhir was fortunate when Yuzvendra Chahal dropped a sitter at short fine-leg off Marco Jansen in the fifth over on 10. He was fortunate once more when Shreyas Iyer missed the direct hit and he was not run out at the non-striker’s end due to a mistake in calling for a single in the following over.
The host team was relieved that there was no more damage, even if the Mumbai Indians had another lackluster Powerplay (48/2). De Kock and Dhir had already started rebuilding, and neither of them made a mistake in their century stand.
Although the hosts were unable to score more than 10 runs per over, De Kock and Dhir’s impressive third-wicket partnership of 132 off 68 balls not only revitalized MI but also created a solid foundation for a large total.
Dhir played a great second fiddle to de Kock while hitting three sixes and as many fours with a powerful bottom-hand stroke. After Dhir hit one straight to long off to complete his half-century, the partnership came to an abrupt end.
When Iyer grabbed the ball off Hardik Pandya (14) while flying over ropes at long-on in the 18th over and threw it to Xavier Bartlett for an incredible catch, he celebrated with his arms spread wide.
