The Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings rivalry is seriously underrated, but it never shies away from producing some absolute thrillers — at the auctions or on the field.

Ahead of the 32nd IPL meeting between the giants of the West and the North, we go down the memory road to reminisce on the Blue and Gold’s most important yet nail-biting triumphs in this matchup since 2008.

Mohali (2012): Petersen, Rayudu defy the odds

A proper heist. Punjab Kings batted first and went on to post 168/3 on the board. Mumbai, chasing 169, would arrive in a situation where they were 137/6 and required 32 in 12 balls. Was it possible? Yes. How? Step out Robin Petersen and Ambati Rayudu with the solution. Petersen hit 14 runs off the first three balls of the penultimate over, and Rayudu capped it off with maximums off the fifth and sixth balls to bring down the equation to five required in the final over. The tension swayed all around the MI camp from 5 needed in 5 to 2 from 2 balls. But a boundary past the short cover fielder won the game with one ball in hand.

Wankhede (2013): Prayer, Patience, BELIEVE and Redemption - The Dhawal Kulkarni arc

Rohit Sharma’s 39-ball 79 catapulted Mumbai Indians to post 174/3 in a game that was brimming with uncertainty all the way. PBKS - banking on the committed effort of David Miller (56) - arrived at a junction where they would need 17 in the final over. Dhawal Kulkarni took the ball, and he would go on to bowl eight deliveries. Needing to defend four runs off his final ball, Kulkarni went for a full toss, but this time, Praveen Kumar’s shot fell inches short of going to the boundary, and Sachin Tendulkar completed the catch to ensure the Sea of Blue at the Wankhede submerged the Red Army of Punjab.

Wankhede (2018): Bumrah masterclass steals one from the jaws of defeat

The MUM-Boys had a tedious task, but it was ticked off in style, thanks to Kieron Pollard (50) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/15). Pollard, for starters, kept the MI innings alive with his 23-ball 50 and got them to 186/8. PBKS came close to victory, needing 24 off the last two overs. But taking a cue from BOOM BOOM’s 3/15 (including just six runs and a wicket in the 19th over), Mitchell McClenaghan held his nerve to keep Punjab at some arm’s length from getting the 16 runs they needed.

Wankhede (2019): ‘Chase Master’ Pollard to the rescue

Kieron Pollard showed it all in front of the Paltan at the Wankhede as a stand-in captain, with a never-say-die attitude and a flag bearer of the MI mentality. KL Rahul’s unbeaten 100 and Chris Gayle’s 63 off 36 balls engineered Punjab to give MI an imposing target of 197/4. Mumbai Indians’ chase had some turbulent moments along the way. However, Kieron Pollard took charge of the ship and went on a rampage with his 31-ball 83 - packaged with 10 towering sixes - to headline the team’s charge to do the impossible - chase 133 in the last ten overs. This added more value, power and praise to the legend in Pollard - the ‘Llord’.

Mohali (2023):  Ishan and Surya paint the SKY blue in a high-scoring thriller

It was a run-fest, no doubt. But MI had the last laugh. Liam Livingstone (82*) and Jitesh Sharma (49*) took Punjab Kings to 214/3. Given the nature of the game and the race to the playoffs, Ishan Kishan and Aapla Dada Surya took it upon themselves to put on a masterclass with the bat. At the end of the powerplay, Mumbai needed 161 runs at 11.50 an over. SKY came in as an impact player and did it to the T - smacking almost two runs per ball to contribute a match-defining 66 off 31 balls. His display rubbed off on Ishan, who would jump from 26 off 15 to 75 from 41 balls. Tilak Varma (26* in 10 balls) and Tim David (19* in 10 balls) would put the finishing touches to the six-wicket triumph.