Mumbai Indians kept their playoff hopes alive as they defeated Punjab Kings by six wickets in match 42 of IPL 2021 in Abu Dhabi. Kieron Pollard made significant contributions with the bat as well as the ball as he complimented Hardik Pandya, whose destructive batting in the final overs, took the defending champions over the line. IPL 2021 Points Table Updated: Mumbai Indians Close Gap On Top Four With Win Over PBKS.

After being asked to bat first, without their regular opening combination, Punjab Kings struggled to get off to a start as Mumbai Indians struck early reducing PBKS to 54/8 in just eight overs. But a partnership between Aiden Markram and Deepak Hooda got their inning back on track guiding PBKS to a sub-par score of 135 runs.

Chasing the target, it was again the same for Mumbai Indians as they lost wickets early with Rohit Sharm and Suryakumar Yadav departing for cheap. But Quinton de Kock and Saurabh Tiwary got the innings back together, and late cameos from Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard got the defending champions to get over the line. Meanwhile, here are some stat highlights from MI vs PBKS clash.

# Rohit Sharma played his 150th game as a T20 captain

# This is the first time pollard has dismissed Chris Gayle since 2012

# KL Rahul became Kieron Pollard's 300th T20 wicket

# This is the first time since 2013 Kieron Pollard has taken two wickets in an IPL innings

# Kieron Pollard became the only cricketer to score 10,000 runs and take 300 wickets in T20s

Both the teams will now turn their focus towards their next games as they aim to work towards their objective of making it into the top four. Punjab Kings face off against KKR, who are above them in the table while Mumbai Indians take on one of the most consistent sides this season in Delhi Capitals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2021 11:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).