Jaipur: Priyansh Arya displayed remarkable maturity for a rookie while Josh Inglis produced a momentum changing knock as Punjab Kings downed Mumbai Indians by seven wickets here on Monday to seal a spot in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League.
Chasing 185, Punjab Kings could not accelerate in the powerplay but Inglis (73 off 42 balls) and Arya (62 off 35) more than made up for a sluggish start with a match-winning 109-run partnership off 59 balls to get their team home in 18.3 overs.
Captain Shreyas Iyer (26 not out off 16) hit a six off Trent Boult to complete a dominating win.
Punjab Kings bowlers had done well to limit Mumbai Indians to 184/7after putting them in to bat at a venue that has produced 200-plus first innings scores for majority of the season.
While both teams had already sealed their playoffs berth, the winner of this match was assured of a top-two finish in the standings, providing two chances to reach the final.
Punjab Kings, who have made the playoffs for the first time since 2014, now travel back to their home ground in Mullanpur for the Qualifier 1 scheduled on May 29.
The Eliminator will be played at the same venue on the following day. The complete playoffs line-up will be decided after the contest between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the already eliminated Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
The architect of Punjab’s win was the batting duo of Arya and Inglis. The highlight of Arya’s third fifty of the season was his ability to gauge the situation and play sensibly when Inglis was going ballistic at the other end.
Arya’s knock comprised sublime drives on the off-side while Inglis was more audacious, bringing scoops and reverse scoops into play.
Earlier, Suryakumar broke Sachin Tendulkar’s 15-year-old record to become the highest run scorer for MI in an IPL season. The India T20 captain has amasses 640 runs thus far, bettering Tendulkar’s 618 scored in the 2010 edition.
Brief scores: MI: 184/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar 57; Arshdeep 2/28, Jansen 2/34, Vyshak 2/44); PBKS: 187/3 in 18.3 overs (Inglis 73, Arya 62, Inglis; Santner 2/41).