After CSK's Sanju Samson, Mumbai Indians opener Quinton de Kock gets an IPL 2026 ton

Quinton de Kock made a memorable return to the Mumbai Indians XI with an unbeaten century against the Punjab Kings in the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

The South African opener hit 112 not out off 60 balls, with seven sixes and eight boundaries. It was only the second century of IPL 2026 after Sanju Samson's unbeaten 115 for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Capitals on April 11.

It was De Kock's third IPL century, with the previous one coming in the 2022 season. The Mumbai Indians were without ace batter Rohit Sharma, and De Kock had come in as his replacement in the opening spot.

De Kock held a 122-run partnership for the third wicket with Naman Dhir (50 off 31), but the rest of the MI batters failed to fire. Skipper Hardik Pandya's 14 was the third-best score by a member of the home side.

Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck, while Tilak Varma made 8, Ryan Rickelton made 2, and Sherfane Rutherford made 1. MI posted 195/6 in 20 overs.

However, De Kock's heroics went in vain as the Punjab Kings won by seven wickets. Opener Prabhsimran Singh scored an unbeaten 80 off 39, and captain Shreyas Iyer made 66 as the visitors won with 21 balls to spare. 

The win has taken Punjab to the top of the points table with nine points, including four wins from five matches. Mumbai remain in the ninth place in the ten-team table on two points from five matches. 

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 195/6 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 112 not out, Naman Dhir 50, Arshdeep Singh 3/22) lost to Punjab Kings 198/3 in 16.3 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 80 not out, Shreyas Iyer 66, AM Ghazanfar 2/31)