Dharamshala, May 14 (IANS) Tilak Varma played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 75 runs as the Mumbai Indians (MI) chased down a target of 201 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday. Mumbai completed the chase with one ball to spare after losing only four wickets in a high-scoring encounter.

Earlier, Punjab Kings had posted 200/8 in 20 overs, thanks to a half-century from Prabhsimran Singh and a late cameo from Azmatullah Omarzai.

Chasing a big target, the Mumbai Indians began cautiously as openers Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma scored only 13 runs in the first two overs. However, Rickelton soon changed the momentum by attacking Marco Jansen with aggressive strokeplay.

The left-hander smashed boundaries and sixes regularly and dominated the Power-play. He hit four fours and four sixes during his quick innings and helped Mumbai reach 59/0 in six overs, while Rohit struggled to score freely at the other end.

Punjab finally got the breakthrough in the seventh over when Omarzai dismissed Rickelton for 48 off just 23 balls, denying him a well-deserved half-century. Naman Dhir then played a short attacking cameo with two sixes before falling to Jansen for nine runs. Rohit, who found it difficult to accelerate, was eventually bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring 25 off 26 balls.

After the two quick wickets, Tilak Varma took control of the chase. He played confidently under pressure, finding boundaries regularly and rotating the strike well alongside Sherfane Rutherford. The pair steadied the innings and slowly pushed Mumbai closer to the target.

Varma shifted momentum completely with a massive 106-metre six off Chahal and followed it with another boundary in the same over. Rutherford also supported him well with a six before being dismissed by Omarzai for 20 off 21 balls in the 17th over.

Despite losing his partner, Varma continued attacking the Punjab bowlers. He reached his half-century in just 25 balls and remained unbeaten on 75. His match-winning innings included six fours and six sixes.

Will Jacks provided the finishing touch with a quick 25 off 10 balls as the Mumbai Indians successfully chased down the target in a thrilling contest.

Asked to bat first, Punjab Kings began carefully with openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh taking time to settle on a pitch that offered some help to the bowlers. However, Priyansh soon attacked Jasprit Bumrah with a couple of boundaries, while Prabhsimran shifted gears in the fifth over by hitting three fours off Shardul Thakur.

Mumbai got their first breakthrough in the final over of the powerplay when Deepak Chahar bowled Priyansh for 22 off 17 balls. Punjab ended the powerplay at 58/1.

Punjab’s leading scorer this season, Cooper Connolly, started cautiously, but Prabhsimran continued to dominate. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed two sixes in the 10th over and brought up his fifty in only 29 balls. He eventually scored 57 off 32 deliveries, hitting six fours and four sixes before being dismissed by Shardul.

The Mumbai pacer then changed the game by clean bowling Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer in the same over. Connolly also failed to convert his start and was bowled by Raj Angad Bawa for 21.

Punjab lost wickets quickly in the middle overs as Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, and Marco Jansen departed in quick succession. Shardul completed an excellent spell of 4/39 by dismissing Shedge and Jansen.

With Punjab under pressure, Omarzai launched a brilliant late assault. The Afghan all-rounder smashed four sixes in his quickfire 38 off just 17 balls and ensured Punjab crossed the 200-run mark. Towards the end, Vishnu Vinod added 15 runs while Xavier Bartlett remained unbeaten on 18 to give Punjab a strong finish.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 200/8 in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 57, Azmatullah Omarzai 38; Shardul Thakur 4-39, Deepak Chahar 2-36) lost to Mumbai Indians 205/5 in 19.5 overs (Tilak Varma 75*, Ryan Rickelton 48; Azmatullah Omarzai 2-36, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-32) by 6 wickets.

–IANS

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