IPL 2026: ‘A terrific effort’ – Sanjay Bangar showers praise on Tilak Varma

The Mumbai Indians recorded their fourth victory of IPL 2026 with a six-wicket win over the Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.

Chasing a total of 201, the five-time champions were led home by Tilak Varma, who scored an unbeaten 33-ball 75. He recovered the team after an early blip despite Ryan Rickelton’s blistering 23-ball 48 at the top. With 50 runs needed off the final three overs, Tilak launched a merciless assault on the Kings’ bowlers, finishing the game with a ball to spare. He was accompanied by Will Jacks, who scored a quickfire 10-ball 25.

Former Indian cricketer and Punjab Kings’ head coach Sanjay Bangar spoke in high praise of Tilak’s knock, alluding to how he managed the situation and kept MI in the game despite low scores from batters above him. He also stated that the Kings missed a trick with their bowling plans, having only five bowling options to rely on. They had used their impact player slot on wicketkeeper-batter Vishnu Vinod owing to a loss of wickets in the back end of the innings.

“Shreyas Iyer used only five bowlers in this game, and there was always going to be a point when the batters targeted Bartlett. Chahal and Arshdeep had bowled extremely well until then. In a way, Punjab Kings took away their own advantage. If you look at Rohit Sharma’s innings and Rutherford’s innings combined, they scored only 45 runs off 47 balls. That meant Mumbai Indians still needed around 150 runs in the remaining 12 overs. So, it was a terrific effort from Tilak Varma to keep Mumbai Indians in the hunt despite those low strike-rate innings from the other batters. Overall, it was a remarkable finish to the chase,” Bangar said, speaking on JioStar. 

MI restricted the PBKS to a total of 200/8 after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first. The returning Shardul Thakur finished with figures of 4 for 39, as ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah led the five-time champions for the first time. MI have had a dismal IPL 2026, being eliminated from the season despite a star-studded squad. They have just managed four wins in 12 games, and with two games remaining, will look to finish their season on a high.