Mumbai Indians, already out of the playoff race, secured a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in their IPL 2026 match held in Dharamsala on Thursday. While Mumbai had nothing to lose, the defeat left Punjab facing a challenging path in the top-four race as they suffered their fifth consecutive loss.
Shardul Thakur's Viral Comment
After the match, Mumbai Indians pacer Shardul Thakur made a remark that quickly went viral on social media. In a video shared by Mumbai Indians, a person asked Shardul about his performances against Punjab while playing for different franchises. The person said, 'You have taken so many wickets against Punjab.' To this, Shardul replied, 'I was kept out and sent home. It's rage!'
Match Performance
Shardul had another strong outing against Punjab on Thursday, finishing with figures of 4 for 39. His spell helped Mumbai pull things back after Punjab made a solid start. Punjab posted 200 for 8 after being asked to bat first, with Prabhsimran Singh scoring 57 and Priyansh Arya making 27. Shardul dismissed Prabhsimran and skipper Shreyas Iyer in the same spell to put Punjab under pressure. Deepak Chahar (2/36), Corbin Bosch (1/42), and Raj Bawa (1/11) were the other wicket-takers for MI.
Chase and Victory
In reply, Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 75 off 33 balls as Mumbai chased down the target of 201 with one ball to spare. Will Jacks stayed not out on 25 off 10 balls as MI reached 205 for 4 in 19.5 overs. For Punjab, Azmatullah Omarzai picked up 2 for 36.
Background of Shardul's Frustration
Shardul's comment appeared to refer to his time with Kings XI Punjab, now called Punjab Kings. The fast bowler was bought by the franchise in the 2014 IPL auction and remained with them for three seasons. However, he played only one match during that period, against Delhi Daredevils in 2015. During the 2016 IPL season, Punjab released him midway through the tournament. At that time, Shardul had just finished as Mumbai's highest wicket-taker in their 2015-16 Ranji Trophy-winning season. A frustrated Shardul had then posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Will play a semifinal t20 game tomorrow for my club payyade sc..playing a game after 2 months..ipl has done wonders .. Certainly'.
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