New Delhi: Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 33-ball 75 to help Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 6 wickets in the IPL 2026 clash at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday, May 14. The Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered its fifth consecutive defeat of the season, dealing a massive blow to its playoff chances.
Ryan Rickelton started the run chase with a brisk 48 off 23 balls. He hit regular boundaries in the powerplay to keep MI in the match as Rohit Sharma struggled to score runs at the other end. MI were 59/0 after six overs, but PBKS made a great comeback as Azmatullah Omarzai removed Rickelton for 48 runs in the seventh over.
Naman Dhir also failed to make a big contribution, while Yuzvendra Chahal removed Rohit for 25 in the 10th over as MI slipped from 61/0 to 88/3. After three quick dismissals, Tilak stitched a useful 61-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford. Omarzai bowled a brilliant 17th over, conceding just 2 runs and also taking a wicket.
MI needed 50 runs off the final three overs, and Marco Jansen went for 22 in the 18th over. Arshdeep bowled well and conceded just 13 runs. But Xavier Bartlett failed to defend 15 runs in the final over as Tilak hit three maximums to help MI win.
Prabhsimran hits brilliant fifty
Earlier, PBKS got off to a brilliant start as Prabhsimran and Priyansh Arya added 50 runs for the first wicket. MI fielders dropped Prabhsimran’s catch, and the opener helped PBKS to reach 55/1 in the powerplay. He then forged another 57-run partnership with Cooper Connolly for the second wicket.
Deepak Chahar dismissed Priyansh for 22 runs in the fifth over, but Prabhsimran batted well and completed his half-century in 30 balls. However, the momentum shifted towards MI after Shardul took two wickets in the 12th over.
He dismissed Prabhsimran for 57 and then removed captain Shreyas Iyer for 4. Raj Bawa also dismissed Connolly for 21 runs, and then took a good catch at short midwicket to remove Suryansh Shedge off Shardul.
Shashank Singh was dismissed by Bosch in the 15th over, while Marco Jansen also failed to score runs, with Shardul taking another wicket in the 17th over. The Punjab-based franchise, however, finished strongly, scoring 53 runs in the final three overs.
Azmatullah Omarzai hit 38 runs off 17 balls with the help of two maximums and a boundary, while Vishnu Vinod and Xavier Bartlett also scored important late runs. Shardul picked up 4 wickets, and Deepak took two, while Bosch and Bawa also got one each. PBKS now need to win their remaining two matches against RCB and LSG to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs.
