Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 9 wickets with 14 balls to spare in Match 17 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on April 23.
Skipper KL Rahul (60 not out off 52) and Chris Gayle (43 not out off 35) ensured Punjab chased down the 132-run target. The win over Mumbai took Punjab to fifth in the points table. Mumbai, however, stayed at fourth. Here is what they said on social media.
And that's that from Chennai.
(60*) from @klrahul11 and 43* from Chris Gayle as #PBKS win by 9 wickets against #MI.
Scorecard – https://t.co/KCBEyHFVDN #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/oWfcCxhOmX
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2021
Harsha Bhogle lauded the pair of Rahul and Gayle. They added 79 unbeaten runs for the second wicket to make sure Punjab chased the target with ease.
KL Rahul today has been just right. And Gayle has played a little gem.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 23, 2021
Adding with Harsha’s thoughts, Irfan Pathan further told Rahul’s strategy to give Deepak Hooda in the Powerplay was a masterstroke against Mumbai.
Right hand,left hand combination worked for Punjab in the end on this sluggish pitch. Well played @henrygayle @klrahul11 bowling Hooda in the power play was a good ploy too. #MIvsPBKS
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 23, 2021
Mithun Manhas, too, had something similar to say after the Punjab vs Mumbai match.
Total dominance and fearless from @PunjabKingsIPL !! A special shout out for @klrahul11 @henrygayle for making it look so easy #PunjabKings Vs #MumbaiIndians
— Mithun Manhas (@MithunManhas) April 23, 2021
Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma (63 off 52) was unable to shift gears after his fifty. In his illustrious T20 career, this was his second time with a strike rate below 130 after 50 balls.
Rohit Sharma's 63 (52) was his first of 22 fifty-plus scores in T20s since the IPL 2017 to result in a defeat.
Today was also only the second time Rohit had a strike rate below 130 after facing 50+ balls in his T20 career. #IPL2021 #PBKSvMI
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 23, 2021