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David Hussey took over captaincy from Gilchrist
For the third match in succession Ricky Ponting sat out, Rohit Sharma continuing as the captain of the Mumbai Indians.
Adam Gilchrist followed in his compatriot's footsteps, resting himself and handing the captain's arm band to David Hussey. That paved the way for Shaun Marsh to play his first match of the season.
Rohit got it right with the coin and had no hesitation in batting first. He went on to vindicate his decision by leading from the front, scoring a 39-ball 79, including 27 runs in the last over bowled by Hussey.
Mumbai Indians managed a formidable 174 for three in their stipulated 20 overs before restricting the visitors to 170.
The home team's narrow four-run win, their sixth in nine matches, helped them consolidate their fourth place.
Tendulkar made just nine
Mumbai made a disastrous start after opting to bat with Sachin Tendulkar dragging a ball from Praveen Kumar on to his stumps in the third over.
He made just nine with two fours, his fifth single digit score in the tournament in nine innings.
Karthik looked good for a big score but...
In-form batsman Dinesh Karthik eased the pressure by hitting Praveen for a four and a six in consecutive balls in the fifth over at the end of which MI were 28 for one.
Karthik looked good for a big score before he too dragged the ball on to his stumps off Manpreet Gony after pulling the bowler for a four off the previous ball as Mumbai were reduced to 43 for two in the eighth over.
Karthik's 25 came off 19 balls.
Dwayne Smith made 33
Dwayne Smith, who replaced Ponting in the team and made half-centuries in his last two innings, made an useful contribution yet again.
Smith, dropped in the deep off Chawla for 13, stuck the leg-spinner for a mighty six and fell top edging a skier to mid on.
The West Indian made 33 in 32 balls with one six and three fours.
Rohit Sharma smashed a blistering 79 not out
Captain Rohit Sharma smashed a blistering unbeaten 79 off 39 balls to power Mumbai Indians to a challenging 174 for three.
Sharma struck six sixes and as many fours in his blistering knock to take Mumbai from 43 for two in the eighth over to a big score.
Sharma put on 43 runs for the third wicket with Smith and an 88 runs with Pollard for the unfinished fourth wicket. The highlight of his innings was the three sixes and two fours he hit in the final over bowled by Hussey.
David Hussey made 34
David Hussey made 34 in 18 balls.
The Australian's knock was inclusive of five boundaries and a six.
It's the second best contribution in the Punjab innings.
Harbhajan picked up three wickets
For Mumbai, Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers as he grabbed three wickets for 14 runs while Mitchell Johnson, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pragyan Ojha took two wickets each.
Harbhajan's figures read 4-0-14-3.
Miller top-scored with 56
David Miller (56 off 34 balls) kept Punjab in the hunt.
The South African's late charge helped reduce the target to 37 in three overs.
The last pair of Praveen, who struck two sixes and one four, and Parvinder Awana (0 not out) took the game to the last over before the former was caught by Sachin Tendulkar off Kulkarni off the last ball of the match.
Johnson picked up two vital wickets
Mitchell Johnson once again impressed with the ball.
He first had Manan Vohra (1) caught by Kieron Pollard and returned to have the dangerous Miller caught at short extra cover by Sachin Tendulkar.
The Australian finished with figures of two for 29.