The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 contest between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday could turn out to be yet another one of those high-scoring affairs. While MI won the toss and chose to bowl first, PBKS made the most of brilliant batting conditions on offer and scored 214/3 in their 20 overs.
Liam Livingstone (82* off 42) and Jitesh Sharma (49* off 27) and their unbeaten stand worth 119* off 53 balls helped Punjab breach the 200-run mark with ease after being 95/3 in 11.2 overs at one stage. As soon as Punjab went past the 200-run mark, they shattered a massive record in IPL history as they became the first team ever in the tournament's history to score at least 200 runs in four back-to-back matches.
They achieved this feat by posting this total which follows scores of 214/8 in the reverse fixture, 201 while chasing 258 to win against Lucknow Super Giants and 201 in a last-ball win over Chennai Super Kings. Meanwhile, this also becomes an unwanted record for MI as they also conceded 200 runs for the fourth successive time. MI conceded 214 twice against PBKS with scores of 212 and 207 from Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals in the other two matches.
In response to PBKS' 214, MI are off to a nightmarish start as they lost captain Rohit Sharma for a duck in the first over. Rishi Dhawan was the wicket-taker as MI have been reduced to 0/1. Earlier, Piyush Chawla was once again the pick of the bowlers for the five-time winners this season, finishing with figures of 2 for 29. Arshad Khan was the other wicket take for MI but conceded 48 runs in his 4 overs.
However, it was an off day for Jofra Archer who went wicketless and ended up conceding 56 runs in his quota of 4 overs.