IPL 2021: All-round Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya heroics help MI beat PBKS to keep campaign alive

Mumbai Indians on Tuesday returned to winning ways as they beat Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in Match 42 to end their 3-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Abu Dhabi.MI jumped two places to be ranked 5th on the IPL 2021 table. They are level on points with Kolkata Knight Riders but are a spot behind due to their inferior net run rate.Chasing a below-par 136 for victory, MI struggled at the start of the innings after being reduced to 61 for 3 at the half-way mark.But Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard held their nerves and first rebuilt the innings before taking on the attack in the death overs to take the team past the finish line in the 19th over.MI vs PBKS, IPL 2021: HighlightsTiwary stitched two important partnerships with Quinton de Kock (27) and Hardik Pandya to keep MI in the hunt. Pandya then combined with Kieron Pollard to finish the job even though the equation got pretty close in the end.Tiwary top-scored with 45 off 37 and was the only batsman from MI who looked comfortable batting on the Zyed International Stadium pitch. De Kock made a useful contribution of 27 during his 45-run partnership with Tiwary before Hardik and Pollard’s unbeaten 45-run stand ended the match.Hardik finished the match with a six to remain not out on 40 while Pollard made 15 not out. Ravi Bishnoi was was Punjab’s standout bowler with 2 for 25 while Shami and Nathan Ellis bagged a wicket each.Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard snapped two wickets each as Mumbai Indians produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Punjab Kings to a below-par 135 for six in their Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.Sent in to bat, Aiden Markram (42 off 29) was the most successful batsman for Punjab as he shared a 61-run partnership with Deepak Hooda (28) to lift their score after they were reduced to 48 for 4 in 7.3 overs.However, once the South African was back in the hut in the 16th over, Punjab couldn’t score a single boundary, managing a meagre 23 runs in the last four overs.Pollard (2/8) and Bumrah (2/24) were the pick of the bowlers but they were supported well by Krunal Pandya (1/24), Rahul Chahar (1/27) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (0/19).