Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Punjab Kings (PBKS) pace spearhead Arshdeep Singh delivered a defining moment in the IPL 2026 clash between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, striking twice in two balls and entering an elite club of left-arm pacers with 100 or more IPL wickets.With this, the 27-year-old pacer became the first PBKS bowler to complete 100 IPL wickets, with Piyush Chawla’s 84 wickets next best on the list.The milestone came in dramatic fashion at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Arshdeep first dismissed Ryan Rickelton with a delivery down the leg side that was flicked straight into the hands of Shashank Singh at deep square leg. It wasn’t his best ball, but it got the job done, and more importantly, brought up his 100th IPL wicket.
Before Mumbai could recover, Arshdeep struck again. On the very next delivery, he produced a much sharper effort, getting the ball to move away from Suryakumar Yadav. The MI batter went for an aggressive drive but only managed an outside edge, which flew to Yuzvendra Chahal at short third man. The catch was clean, the impact immediate, and suddenly Arshdeep was on a hat-trick.With that double strike, Arshdeep joined an exclusive list of left-arm pacers featuring the likes of Trent Boult, Jaydev Unadkat, Ashish Nehra, and Zaheer Khan who have crossed the 100-wicket mark in IPL history.Interestingly, this was also Arshdeep’s first powerplay wicket in his last 11 IPL innings, making the moment even more significant. His spell not only dented Mumbai early but also injected energy into the Punjab camp, with fans erupting in celebration.At 48/2 after six overs, Mumbai had been jolted early, and Arshdeep’s burst set the tone. In a format where momentum shifts quickly, his back-to-back strikes were a reminder of how one over can change the course of a match and cement a player’s place among the league’s finest.
