Twitter Reactions: Naman Dhir brings up 29-ball fifty during MI vs PBKS clash in IPL 2026

With the absence of Rohit Sharma due to injury and three successive defeats in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, the Mumbai Indians (MI) needed a better performance with the bat and ball during their fixture against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

There was a lot of talk of Naman Dhir getting the chance to open the batting in place of Rohit, but the management decided to bring Quinton de Kock back into the eleven as they built a pair of two left-handed Protea batters with Ryan Rickelton.

Naman Dhir celebrates half-century in 29 balls against PBKS

It was a horrible start for the home side when they lost two successive wickets in the third over of the innings against Arshdeep Singh to find themselves 12/2. Dhir, getting the promotion at number four, had heart in the mouth when he scooped the length delivery of Marcon Jansen into the hands of short fine leg, who dropped the simple catch.

In the last over of the power play, the right-handed batter opened his arms and smashed Vijaykumar Vyshak for 15 runs. He picked the length on the pads and timed it over deep square leg for a boundary before clearing his front leg to thump the very next ball for a massive six over long-on.

See Also: Watch: Arshdeep Singh’s double-wicket over dents MI during MI vs PBKS clash in IPL 2026

Dhir welcomed Yuzvendra Chahal with a six in the long-off region. For the next few overs, he didn’t get the strike much with de Kock showing his power to smash the big shots around the park. On the fourth ball of the 12th over, he got to the pitch of the delivery against Chahal and hit it inside over cover for another massive six.

In 29 balls, he completed his second half-century in IPL history. That was also his first landmark after a decent campaign last year. He was finally dismissed for 50 runs off 31 balls with the help of three boundaries and as many sixes at a strike rate of 161.29 as Mumbai reached 160/3 in 16 overs.

Brief Scores (at the time of writing): MI- 182/5 (Q de Kock 107*, Arshdeep Singh 3/17) vs PBKS. 

Fans react to Dhir’s 29-ball half-century in IPL 2026

Here is how the fans have reacted to Dhir’s fifty in 29 deliveries during the IPL 2026-