Arya, Inglis, Arshdeep Steer Punjab Kings To The Top Two

Seven-wicket win vs MI came after restricting the batting of the five-time champions despite SKY's half-century

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

MUMBAI: After failing to defend 206 in their last game against Delhi Capitals at the same Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the pressure was on the Punjab Kings bowlers. On Monday, they were up against an in-form, experienced Mumbai Indians batting line-up.

Led by an excellent display by Arshdeep Singh, the PBKS bowlers made amends despite the challenge of playing back-to-back games within 48 hours at the fag end of a gruelling tournament.

After skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl, the PBKS bowlers restricted MI to 184. Six of MI's top seven batters got a start, but none could break free. Suryakumar Yadav was the top-scorer with 57 off 39 balls (6x4, 2x6) but he was also made to work hard for his runs.

Powered by a rollicking 109-run second wicket partnership off 59 balls between opener Priyansh Arya (62-35b, 9x4, 2x6) and Josh Inglis (73-42b, 9x4, 3x6), PBKS stormed to a seven-wicket win with nine balls to spare to guarantee themselves of a top-two finish.

The teams that finish No. 1 and 2 in the points table face in Qualifier 1 on May 29 and the winners of that match go straight into the final. MI have also qualified for the play-offs by finishing fourth in the table with 16 points.