Mumbai Indians (MI) claimed one wicket inside the powerplay against the home team, Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. It was a big moment of the match as the dangerous PBKS opener, Priyansh Arya, departed before claiming a crucial individual score. Deepak Chahar gave some relief to Mumbai Indians.
This was another imitation of Deepak Chahar which worked. On the third ball of the sixth over of the second innings, Priyansh Arya was on the leg side, due to which he created some space to free his hands. Chahar anticipated the move of the opposing batsman and played knuckleball.
Deepak Chahar uprooted the stumps by dismissing Priyansh Arya
The batsman was in a position to hit the ball, but due to lack of pace he missed the ball completely. When Priyank Arya was bowled out, Deepak Chahar had a unique celebration. The delivery speed was only 117 kmph, which was too slow for an aggressive left-handed batsman. PBKS lost their first wicket of the night.
Watch the dismissal here:
Disguise: 💯. Execution: 💯
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– IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) 14 May 2026
The nature of the pitch has made the match more exciting
Before the match. Danny Morrison pointed out that the pitch was looking a bit difficult as some black spots as well as some white spots were visible on the deck. Those patches can be beneficial for the bowlers. Additionally, he also pointed out that the height of the field and the way the ball traveled in the air could be advantageous for the batsmen. In such a situation, an exciting battle between the ball and the bat was being anticipated at the very beginning of the match.
“We didn’t see a single over of spin in the last match. If you want to see the flight and guile, this is not the pitch; it looks identical to the last match. It looks remarkably consistent with the last game. Those darker patches suggest areas where the bounce may be a little less and the surface may be more ‘grabby’, while the brighter, white patches indicate a better-rolling, truer surface,” said Danny Morrison of the pitch.
“That ‘double pace’ nature that we saw last time is likely to be visible again today. However, the score of 200 remains par due to the higher altitude and the way the ball travels in this thin air. However, the batsmen need to be cautious early on, as this surface is certainly high enough to keep the bowlers interested,” he said.
The prediction turned out to be absolutely correct
As the match progressed, the prediction proved correct as Prabhsimran Singh batted well for PBKS and also scored a half-century. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians bowlers also took important wickets at important junctures of the game. Will Punjab Kings be able to score more than 200? It will be interesting to see how the match will progress.
Read more: Naman Dheer drops an easy catch of Prabhsimran Singh in PBKS vs MI match
