Brevis impresses but PBKS hold their nerve

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the twenty-third game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Maharashtra Cricket Academy Stadium in Pune. Mayank Agarwal was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Agarwal and Dhawan find their mojo

Mayank Agarwal entered this game with three consecutive single-digit scores, each one the result of early boldness that didn't quite pan out. He didn't adjust his approach despite the low scores, as he provided the early ammo for PBKS to race to 65 for 0 in six overs, the fourth-highest powerplay total of the season and the highest in Pune.

The most concentrated spell of hitting by Agarwal came in the fifth over, when he went 4, 4, 6 against Murugan Ashwin's legspinners. He extended out and wasn't quite to the pitch of the ball, which was also turning away from his hitting arc, but he went ahead and hit it anyway, clearing the fielder at long-off.

In the 10th over, he tried a similar shot off the same bowler, but miscued it, bringing an opening partnership of 97 to an end. Even though Shikhar Dhawan's most productive shot of the innings - a ramp over the keeper off Jasprit Bumrah - came when he had next to no room - Mumbai's spinner found him a little easier to tie down by denying him space during that stand.

Mumbai claw their way back

Most probably anticipated a PBKS total of 195 before Agarwal was dismissed. It had dropped to 182 by the conclusion of the 17th over, when Dhawan was dismissed for 70 off 50 balls.

Various members of Mumbai's bolstered bowling attack - they used five out-and-out bowlers on the day - contributed to the comeback. For example, after giving away 17 in his first over, Ashwin only gave away 17 in his next three - but Bumrah stood out. No matter what phase he bowled in, Mumbai's spearhead targeted the yorker length throughout his four overs and generally got it right. He got it stunningly correct on one occasion, blasting through Liam Livingstone to bowl him for two. With stats of 4-0-28-1, he finished the match as the most economical bowler on either side.

Jitesh Sharma and Khan put the finishing touches

In the end, PBKS outperformed the expected total before Agarwal's expulsion. Jitesh Sharma, who smashed Jaydev Unadkat for two sixes and two fours in a 23-run 18th over on his way to an unbeaten 30 off 15 balls, was largely responsible for this. His shot selection was outstanding, including a bent-knee drive for six over extra-cover and a shuffling reverse-scoop over short third.

PBKS set a target that would seriously challenge a reduced Mumbai line-up, with Masood Shahrukh Khan muscling two straight sixes off Basil Thampi in the final over.

Rohit Sharma comes out with a bang

Unadkat was positioned at No. 7 after Mumbai's six proper batters. The top of the order, on the other hand, did not bat with extra caution as a result of this. Rohit Sharma, who has been questioned about his form, set the tone in the first over by attempting two lap-sweeps off Vaibhav Arora. He edged one for four runs and put the other away for six.

Rohit's aggression cost him his wicket when Kagiso Rabada cramped him for space on a pull after he had taken himself to 28 off 16 runs. Mumbai were 32 for 2 in the fifth over as Arora got the ball to travel off the seam and clipped Ishan Kishan.

Brevis makes his presence known

Early in his innings, Dewald Brevis exuded concern as he swung hard at Arora and Arshdeep Singh but battled to middle - and on a couple of instances even connect - the ball, which was still new and moving around.

A back-foot cover drive for four and a somewhat rushed pull for six reminded everyone of his precocious potential, but no one could have predicted what would happen next.

Brevis went 4, 6, 6, 6 and Rahul Chahar was on the receiving end. Over the course of those four balls, the legspinner's lengths and lines changed, but Brevis kept hitting him straight or over long-on. His feet got him where he needed to go, and his still head and uninhibited, golfer-like bat-swing took care of the rest - attributes that have drawn comparisons to Abraham Benjamin de Villiers from cricket fans all over the world.

Mumbai were flying to their target, with Tilak Varma finding the boundary frequently - his two sixes were a scoop-pull over short fine leg and a back-foot cut over backward point - as overs nine, ten, and eleven delivered 53 runs. Brevis was even dropped during this phase, but he was caught at deep backward square leg off the very next ball, the 11th's final, giving PBKS some much-needed relief.

Yadav battles valiantly, but Mumbai doomed by run-outs

Mumbai required 79 runs in the final 48 balls. That's a needed rate of less than ten, which usually favors the batting side as long as they don't lose two quick wickets, exposing the bottom order. Varma was run-out in the 13th over after a mix-up with Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard was run-out in the 17th over after he couldn't match his partner's quickness of feet but still reacted to his request for a second run.

Yadav and Pollard scored only 19 runs off overs 14, 15, and 16 in the meantime, as PBKS tightened up with the ball and Mumbai made what appeared to be a conscious and forced effort to take the game deep, given the lack of batting to follow.

Mumbai needed 47 runs off 23 balls after Pollard was dismissed. In the grand scheme of things, it was still conceivable, but they only had one recognized batter in the middle.

Yadav kept their hopes alive with consecutive sixes off Arora in the 17th over, but he was only able to get on strike for two balls in the 18th over, as Singh conceded just five runs with a mix of stump-to-stump yorkers and wide yorkers. The left-armer's economy rate at the death for the season is now 4.33 at the end of that over.

Yadav holed out off Rabada in the 19th over, forced to go after everything. Mumbai needed 22 from the last six balls, and Unadkat's pulled six off the opening ball gave them one last ray of hope. However, Odean Smith, who had switched to round the wicket, dismissed Unadkat off the following ball and concluded the game with a nine-run, triple-wicket over.