De Kock century goes in vain as table-topper Punjab hands Mumbai its fourth loss in IPL

India IPL Cricket

Punjab Kings' wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh celebrates his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

India IPL Cricket

Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

India IPL Cricket

Mumbai Indians' wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock hits a boundary during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

India IPL Cricket

Punjab Kings' Arshdeep Singh celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav, left, during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) MUMBAI, India (AP) — Quinton de Kock’s century went in vain as Punjab Kings continued their unbeaten run by handing Mumbai Indians their fourth straight loss in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. De Kock, playing his first game of the season in place of injured Rohit Sharma, anchored Mumbai to 195-6 with an unbeaten 112 off 60 balls while Naman Dhir scored 50 off 31 deliveries. But blistering half-centuries from wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh (80 not out) and captain Shreyas Iyer (66) powered Punjab to 198-3 in 16.3 overs for a seven-wicket win that lifted the team atop the table with nine points. Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar (2-31), who came in as Mumbai’s impact substitute, got the wickets of Priyansh Arya (15) and Cooper Connolly (17) inside the power play before Singh and Iyer featured in a rollicking stand of 139 runs in 11 overs. Premium fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah also couldn’t stem the flow of runs and returned with expensive figures of 0-41 off his four overs as both Punjab batters showed plenty of aggression against the four-man Mumbai pace attack. Deepak Chahar went for 45 of his 2.3 overs, Shardul Thakur conceded 42 off his three overs while captain Hardik Pandya (0-39) also conceded 13 an over in a brutal Punjab run-chase. Singh raised his second straight half-century off just 23 balls with eight fours and a six while Iyer brought up his fifty of 31 balls and smacked Thakur four two consecutive sixes before perishing when Dhir took a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket. Earlier, left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh (3-22) found early movement and got the wickets of Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav of successive deliveries before de Kock and Dhir shared a 122-run stand. De Kock smashed eight boundaries and seven sixes and Dhir complemented his South African teammate by smacking three fours and three sixes in the century partnership. But Punjab came back strongly in the latter half of Mumbai's innings after Iyer brought up a brilliant relay catch that broke de Kock-Dhir stand in the 14th over. Arshdeep got some reverse swing with the old ball and clean bowled Sherfane Rutherford with a perfect yorker in the penultimate over and ensured Mumbai couldn’t breach the 200-run mark at its home ground. \\\_ AP cricket: