De Kock comeback ton in vain as PBKS condemn MI to fourth straight loss

Punjab Kings toppled RCB from the top of the points table with a commanding seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer put on an explosive 139-run partnership for the third wicket, surpassing the 122-run stand between Quinton de Kock and Naman Dhir that propelled MI to 195/6. PBKS, however, chased down the target with 21 balls to spare, meaning de Kock's third century – on MI comeback – couldn't prevent a fourth straight defeat for his franchise.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 195/6 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 112* off 60, Naman Dhir 50 off 31; Arshdeep Singh 3-22) lost to Punjab Kings 198/3 in 16.3 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 80* off 39, Shreyas Iyer 66 off 35; Allah Ghazanfar 2-31) by 7 wickets

Back with a bang, no less. He had to wait for his turn until Rohit Sharma turned up hamstrung. But as soon as he got his chance, he showed his class with a scintillating 112* to leave everyone wondering why he was warming the bench all along. Alongside a promoted Naman Dhir, de Kock steadied MI's ship after Arshdeep Singh dented them twice in the Powerplay. De Kock played exactly half of MI's 20 overs, making close to 57.5% of the team's 195 at a strike-rate of 186.67.

Barring a brief first-over attack against countryman Marco Jansen, de Kock was quiet and mostly off-strike for the better part of the remaining Powerplay. He was on 15 off 11, having gotten off the mark on comeback with a maximum, but didn't look back once the field spread. By the 10th over, he'd slammed two sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal and fetched two more boundaries off Vijaykumar Vyshak to march to a 28-ball half-century. He raised the century stand with Dhir (50 off 31) with another big hit against the leggie. PBKS were forced to throw the ball to Shashank Singh, who duly broke the 122-run partnership. However, De Kock's counterattack in the part-timer's following over – consecutive sixes on either side of the pitch – forced the visitors into another bowling change. A late collapse caused MI to lose momentum, finishing with 195 – a score that was sub-par given the conditions and the opener's fine knock.

How was Punjab's response?

Explosive, mostly. The 21-run opening over saw Deepak Chahar taken apart by the PBKS openers. Jasprit Bumrah applied the brakes with a five-run second over, and first-change Allah Ghazanfar reaped the rewards with wickets in back-to-back overs of the dangerous Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly. However, Shreyas Iyer joined hands with a set Prabhsimran to keep the boundaries flowing and help their side tackle the near-10 asking rate with a counterattacking partnership.

Prabhsimran-Iyer stand seals it comfortably

After a quiet seventh over, MI brought back Chahar, but Prabhsimran used the opportunity to ease the pressure with a six and a four. Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur or Bumrah – none of the pacers were spared as the third-wicket pair went on to add 139 runs in just 66 balls amidst a steadily declining asking rate. For seven successive overs from the 10th to the 16th, the pair sent at least one ball to the fence (or over it) in the first couple of deliveries itself to set themselves up nicely. Prabhsimran, who was dropped by Bumrah on 11, raised a 24-ball half-century and Iyer got to his third successive of the season, in 31 balls. The skipper got a reprieve just after, with Dhir getting his fingertips to the ball before it went over the ropes. A second consecutive six later, Dhir redeemed himself but the non-celebration told the match story. PBKS were just 12 away with 4.3 overs left.

MI will make a quick trip to Ahmedabad for a Monday game whereas Punjab are heading back home to Mullanpur, where they host Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday evening.