IPL 2022: ‘High time MI brings their A game’; Twitter reacts as Mumbai Indians lose 5th successive match

Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians suffered their fifth defeat in a row when they were beaten by Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Pune’s MCA Stadium on Wednesday.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first. Punjab were off to a brilliant start as openers Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan added 97 runs for the first wicket. Agarwal was superb and found form as he raced to 52 off 32 balls. The PBKS skipper, who was short of runs lately, was the aggressor in the partnership and he played some delightful shots all over the park.

Shikhar Dhawan continued his good work and scored a 50-ball 70. After a solid start, Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan took off in the final overs to give Punjab a lot of momentum. Jitesh scored 30 off just 15 balls while Shahrukh smashed 15 off 6 balls. PBKS ended with 198 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs.

Mumbai Indians needed their top order to get going, but after a brisk start Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma both fell in quick succession. Rohit looked good during his stay at the crease and scored 28 off 17 balls.

However, after the twin strikes, Dewald Brevis smashed 49. He was given great support by Tilak Varma, who scored 36, as the duo counter-attacked and put Mumbai back in contention. Brevis clattered Rahul Chahar for four successive sixes in one over as the pair added 84 runs for the third wicket. However, Brevis was dismissed and Tilak’s run out soon after put a lot more pressure on Mumbai. Kieron Pollard too was run out and despite Suryakumar’s brilliance at the end, the gap proved to wide for Mumbai to bridge as they lost their fifth successive match.

Here is how Twitter reacted after this thrilling match in Pune:

Irfan Pathan was in awe of Dewald Brevis.

Michael Vaughan praised Mumbai Indians for signing Brevis so early.

Wasim Jaffer questioned Mumbai Indians for not selecting Tim David.

Several current players were flabbergasted with the way Suryakumar Yadav played.

Amit Mishra asked MI to bring their ‘A’ game forward.

Here are some other reactions: