Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) locked horns in the 42nd match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (September 28).

Invited to bat first, PBKS posted 135/6 in their allotted 20 overs. It was a disappointing performance as no one except for Aiden Markram (42 off 29 balls) managed to touch the 30-run mark.

Kieron Pollard (2-8) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-24) were the stars with the ball for the defending champions, claiming two wickets each.

In reply, MI lost skipper Rohit Sharma (8) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) with only 16 runs on the board. Quinton de Kock (27 off 29 balls) and Saurabh Tiwary (45 off 37 balls) tried to steady the ship in the middle overs but they failed to keep the required run rate in check.

Mumbai Indians were struggling at 92/4 after 15.1 overs when Kieron Pollard joined Hardik Pandya in the middle and the duo wreaked havoc on Punjab bowlers.

In particular, Pandya took the PBKS attack to the cleaners and roared back to form with a blazing knock of 40 not out off 30 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Pollard also played a stunning cameo of 7-ball 15 as MI overhauled the target with 6 wickets in hand and an over to spare

It was Mumbai’s first victory in the UAE-leg of IPL 2021 after being beaten by CSK, KKR, and RCB in the last three outings. They are now occupying fifth place on the points table with 5 wins from 11 games.

For his stellar showing with the bat, Hardik Pandya received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on Twitter.

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