Iyer shines in losing cause; Gurkeerat makes merry

Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 44-ball 79 was trumped by Punjab's collective assault as they chased down Mumbai's target of 199 with three wickets and four balls in hand in Kolkata. Yuvraj Singh struck a 34-ball 40, while Gurkeerat Singh (43 off 18 balls) and Manan Vohra (42 off 31 balls) produced quicker cameos.

Iyer, who made his international debut last season, has been retained by Delhi Daredevils for INR 7 crore ahead of the IPL auction. The likes of Yuvraj - who has set his base price at the highest bracket of INR 2 crore - Vohra (INR 20 lakh) and Gurkeerat (INR 50 lakh) are likely to receive a few bids at the auction. Yuvraj has had a decent run lately, having produced scores of 50* and 35* during the zonal phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

Earlier, Mumbai, having been put in to bat, began in rousing fashion with Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista scoring 45 runs in 5.2 overs before the latter was removed by Mayank Markande. Iyer and Herwadkar then put on 73 runs for the second wicket. After Herwadkar's dismissal in the 14th over, there weren't many big partnerships but Shivam Dubey's 22 off 12 balls and captain Aditya Tare's unbeaten 13 included a few big hits. Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh went wicketless in his three overs and conceded 27 runs.

Punjab's chase barely had a hiccup after Vohra and Mandeep Singh set things up with a 42-run stand in 3.5 overs. With Harbhajan continuing to bat at No. 3, Yuvraj, Gurkeerat and Sharad Lumba (21 off 10 balls) provided the middle-order muscle.