Punjab Kings have been building momentum in IPL 2026, and Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium felt like it finally turned into something ruthless. Seven wickets, a winning streak extended, and Mumbai Indians staring at a fourth straight defeat.
Misryoum newsroom reported that the story started with a giant at the top—Quinton de Kock’s century. He came in after injured former skipper Rohit Sharma, and in his first appearance of the season he delivered a masterclass. De Kock struck an unbeaten 112 off 60 balls, his third IPL century for a third different franchise. On paper, 195/6 is usually a strong place to sit. Actually, not this time.
There was a lot of electricity in the early overs for Mumbai though—at least at first. MI were rocked early, slumping to 15/2 inside three overs. De Kock steadied everything after that, stitching a defining 132-run stand with Naman Dhir, who made a gritty 50 after being promoted up the order. The pair revived MI’s innings with crisp drives and heavy leg-side hitting from de Kock. But as the overs moved into the death, the tempo slowed, and MI never quite got over the 200 line. You could almost feel the ground exhale when the chase became realistic.
Then Punjab Kings went after the target the way you’d expect a top-of-the-table team to. Misryoum editorial desk noted that the chase began in explosive fashion, taking 21 runs off the first over from Deepak Chahar. MI tried to claw it back briefly through Afghanistan’s Allah Ghazanfar, removing Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly—still, the momentum didn’t really swing back. Prabhsimran Singh was the spark you kept watching, because he stayed in control while punishing anything even slightly off. He finished unbeaten on 80 off 39 balls, blistering through the innings with that calm, “keep going” look.
Shortly after, Shreyas Iyer made it worse for Mumbai. He played a captain’s innings of 66 off 35 balls—his third consecutive half-century of the season—and the partnership they built was basically the end of the contest. A 139-run stand for the third wicket between the two turned the chase into a formality, and it never felt like Punjab were playing catch-up. Iyer was repeatedly finding the boundary, and even launched a towering six off Shardul Thakur. Somewhere in the middle of the innings, there was that small, real-world moment—someone’s towel snapping in the breeze near the boundary, loud enough to cut through the chatter for a second—like the stadium itself couldn’t believe how comfortably this was going.
By the time Mumbai’s attack buckled, it was already hard to imagine a comeback. Jasprit Bumrah endured another difficult outing, wicketless and leaking 41 runs, and the bowling attack couldn’t contain Punjab’s aggressive approach. Punjab eventually finished at 198/3 with 21 balls to spare. Marcus Stoinis then provided the finishing touches as PBKS sealed a comprehensive win, reinforcing their position at the top of the table as the only unbeaten side in the tournament. And yeah, de Kock’s century deserved better—maybe. The chase just made the difference feel permanent.
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