Tilak Varma climbs to new heights as Punjab's free fall in the mountains continues

Results in brief: Mumbai Indians (205/4 in 19.5 overs) beat Punjab Kings (200/8 in 20 overs) by 6 wickets at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala.

PBKS vs MI: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

Five losses on the trot. Few would have predicted in their wildest dreams that the kings of Punjab would find themselves buried so deep in the snow after once sitting pretty on top. Heading into the play-offs with 13 points from just seven games, the air around them was thin and exciting. But the mountains, as any seasoned hiker will tell you, are as treacherous as they are beautiful. Like a snowball picking up pace on its way down, Punjab rolled and rolled and showed no signs of stopping.

Nothing works. No reshuffling of personnel, no change of setting, no desperate attempts to rewrite the narrative. A score of 210 against Delhi Capitals on Monday was not enough. Under a darkening Dharamsala sky on Thursday night, 200 was not enough for the Mumbai Indians, who took on the role of party poopers with gusto, this time led by a certain Jasprit Bumrah making his captaincy debut.

It was Tilak Varma who really made the mountains shine. An unbeaten 75 off just 33 deliveries, laced with six sixes and as many boundaries, was the knock that settled the contest. After Ryan Rickelton’s quickfire 48 set the tone at the top, Tilak took over the heavy lifting without a single flicker of anxiety. He read the pace of this mountainside like a guide who had walked the trail a hundred times, finding boundaries at will and keeping Bombay’s uphill march steady and sure. Will Jacks lent muscle at the death and they combined for 84 runs in the last six overs, putting the game firmly out of Punjab’s reach.

PUNJAB’S FREE FALL CONTINUES

Punjab Kings have lost 5 matches on the trot. Courtesy: Reuters

While Bumrah’s poised authority with the ball and armband on his first captaincy outing will dominate the back pages on Friday morning, the unraveling of the Punjab Kings is a darker and more compelling story. They are now in real danger of dropping out of the top four if Chennai Super Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Friday.

The numbers speak of a flattering lie. Eight points over 200 this season and yet here they are, skidding. The batting unit, which patched up the cracks of the regular bowling attack in the first half of the season, can no longer carry the burden alone. On Thursday, it was a bowling alley that bent under the mountain air. After death, the Punjab kings perished without a single parting shot. Marco Jansen bled 22 runs in the 18th over. Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal, who had been terrific in three overs, was taken to the cleaners in the 16th over as Tilak and Sherfane Rutherford mercilessly plundered 20 off the leg spinner.

There will be plenty of searching questions echoing around the dressing room as the Punjab Kings try to make sense of this picture. They still have one more match in the mountains, but it already carries the weight of the climb, table players Royal Challengers Bengaluru will arrive in Dharamsala on Sunday.

SHARDUL THAKUR RETURNS IN STYLE

Shardul Thakur took 4 wickets against Punjab Kings. Courtesy: Reuters

Earlier in the evening, the Punjab Kings cruised to 201 largely on the back of a spirited lower-order attack. The decision to play Azmatullah Omarzai instead of Marcus Stoinis raised eyebrows in the stands, but the Afghanistan all-rounder, playing his first match of the season, responded to his critics with a blistering 38 off 37 balls, including four sixes.

It didn’t look so promising just a moment ago. Punjab Kings were in considerable trouble at 147 for 7 at the end of the 17th over. Shardul Thakur, recalled to the XI in place of Allah Ghazanfar, was outstanding and used the HPCA Stadium conditions intelligently and combatively to break the Punjab middle order.

But Omarzai had other ideas. Deepak Chahar, tidy and controlled in his first three overs for just 17, chipped away at the worst possible time in his last over. The full throw to the pads that started the carnage said it all. What followed was merciless: a fuller delivery into the crowd, then a wide yorker that went badly wrong and was sent over sweeper cover. The 19-year-old ran away and the skin on the shift completely changed. Omarzai fell on the final ball but the damage was done.

From there the Punjab kings found unexpected allies. Vishnu Vinod, the wicketkeeper-paler from Kerala, was pushed in as a striking Impact Player ahead of Harpreet Brar, a gamble that paid off handsomely. He smashed a boundary and a six off Corbin Bosch in the 19th over and when Xavier Bartlett swung greedily for two more big shots, 22 runs came from that alone. Bumrah’s final over brought 12. From the brink, Punjab Kings scrambled to 201.

That wouldn’t be enough.

CAPTAIN BUMRAH SEPTEMBER

Jasprit Bumrah led Mumbai Indians on Thursday. Courtesy: Reuters

Bumrah himself did not take a wicket on the night, but his presence as captain was quiet and purposeful, directing traffic from the mid-on with a steady hand and orchestrating a bowling attack based on the complementary skills of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.

Deepak drew first blood and eliminated the dangerous Priyansh Arya in the powerhouse final. He rounded the wicket and found an angle to drive one sharply and rattle the stumps. Priyansh looked ominous but was bowled by some clever, premeditated bowling for 22 overs.

Meanwhile, Prabhsimran Singh was acquiring every bit of wealth the mountain gods could spare. Falling for 5 from Naman Dhir off Bumrah and again for 27 from Corbin Bosch, he refused to waste a single gift. In the tenth over, he found his groove against uncapped spinner Raghu Sharma and began to look like the batsman who had Punjab with such authority at the start of the season before his form and confidence quietly deserted him.

Then Shardul Thakur produced a delivery that deserved a far greater fate. Prabhsimran swung hard, got a strong outside edge and watched the ball die somewhere inside the 30 yard circle. One of those Shardul things. The pitcher pumped his fist and went looking for another one. He found it almost immediately, a cross-seamer that slid off the surface and clipped the top of the off-stump, sending Shreyas Iyer back to the pavilion for just 4, spoiled and destitute.

Raj Angad Bawa, who was retained in the playing XI despite a tough evening in Raipur against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, then perhaps delivered the game. A cross-seamer, tossed on a length, which slipped and held on to remove Cooper Connolly for 21 just as the Punjab batter started to look dangerous. Bumrah, who spent much of the evening whispering encouragement and instructions to Bawa from the middle, shone. It looked like a well-laid trap.

Shardul then removed the promising Suryansh Shedge before Corbin Bosch trapped the relieved Shashank Singh in the 15th over. Shashank, a middle-order pillar of some reputation last season, managed just 76 runs in the entire campaign and looked the man carrying that burden as he trudged along. Shardul completed the demolition with Marc Jansen’s innings that held the touch and did not ask any questions for the batter to answer.

From a promising 107 for 1, the Punjab Kings slumped to 140 for 7. A late blitz pulled them down to 201. The mountains offered no refuge on this occasion.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

15 May 2026 0:18 IST