Sunrisers Hyderabad batting powers past steep target, as Mumbai Indians stare down the barrel
Mumbai Indians – 243/5 (Ryan Rickelton 123* off 55 balls) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad – 249/4 (18.4) (Heinrich Klaasen 65* off 30 balls, Travis Head 76 off 30 balls) by 6 wickets
Man of the Match: Heinrich Klaasen
Mumbai Indians, looking to get their IPL season back on track, set a strong target of 243/5 on the back of a superb century from Ryan Rickelton, but Sunrisers Hyderabad surpassed it easily. A century partnership in double quick time by the Sunrisers openers, followed by a dominating unbeaten 65 from Heinrich Klaasen helped them overcome the score with 8 balls to spare and took them to third place on the table.
MI opening clicks at last
MI won the toss and decided to bat first. Since the century-opening partnership in the first match this season, MI had struggled with this position. Will Jacks was brought into this match and so was Ryan Rickelton due to a last-minute injury to Quinton de Kock.
Jacks started with obvious intent, even if his first few shots were not too convincing. As the innings progressed, the timing got better and he unfurled a few gorgeous strokes. Rickelton, on the other hand, looked in good nick, timing the ball perfectly. Not someone who moves down the pitch too much, he mainly stayed back at the crease, judged the length early and pummelled anything on leg or middle towards leg. Length balls aimed at the top of off stump, generally considered a good ball to bowl, were easily picked up and dispatched for sixes over deep midwicket.
Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, both brilliant in their debut match a few nights ago, were brought back down to earth with 15 and 18, respectively, scored off their first over. Harsh Dubey was taken apart by Jacks for 16 runs as he nailed the fuller ball for a straight six, and the length balls were slog swept over long leg for a six and another crunched towards deep point for a four. The powerplay score was 78/0, and MI were looking for an insurmountable total on a flat batting track.
Wickets fall, but runs keep flowing
Jacks had motored along nicely when he nicked behind to a seam up ball by Nitish Reddy, who showed appreciable increase in his pace, the wicket delivery being bowled at 140 + kmph. However, that over went for 17 runs and Rickelton reached his half-century off 23 balls with another six on the leg side. Suryakumar, struggling for form, swiped an awkward pull off Eshan Malinga towards long leg and was caught at the boundary for another failure. Malinga was easily the best of the bowlers on this day, and with his variation and mixing of line and length, the batsmen struggled to score freely off him.
Naman Dhir was the next batsman in, and he did not let the rate stagnate. On the other side, Rickelton was batting like a dream. Dubey was brought back in the 12th over and was smashed for two massive sixers by Rickelton off the first two balls, one over deep midwicket and another straight over the sightscreen. In the end, Dubey would have been relieved to have conceded only 19 runs in that over. The score was 156/2 off 12 overs, and MI looked on their way to score in excess of 250.
MI looks to blast off, but is restricted by some smart bowling
The next eight overs were critical and with 8 wickets remaining, MI would certainly have looked to score at least 100 runs in these overs. But three of these remaining overs, bowled by Malinga, Hinge and Cummins conceded only 17 runs, with Hinge dismissing Naman Dhir caught in the outfield. Additionally, Rickelton was getting tired, batting in the energy-sapping hot and humid conditions. He completed a wonderful century in 44 balls, but was unable to get those big hits going as frequently as earlier in the innings.
Hardik Pandya managed to land a few big shots for a quickfire 31 off 15 balls, and MI ended up at 243/5, a sizeable total and one they would feel confident about, but they also had to get rid of the destructive SRH top order to prevent them from chasing this target.
Travishek turbocharges SRH innings
One-half of the SRH opening duo has been doing fine, but there were concerns regarding the form of Travis Head. Things did not look great when he attempted an airy swipe off a Boult length delivery, and was almost caught by the short third fielder, but Jacks could not hold on to the ball with his left hand. Boult’s next over, a wide ball was sliced directly to deep backward point Naman Dhir, who mistimed his jump, and the ball just went through his hands. He was dropped twice more by Naman as the Head kept on swinging and the ball seemed to find the same fielder every time.
Many batsmen, struggling to time the ball, would be more circumspect. But Head is not like most batsmen and he chose to ride his luck and kept on brandishing his bat like a sword and kept on finding the boundaries. The over where Naman first dropped him went for 18 runs, with 3 sixers. For good measure, he survived a caught behind chance in that over as none of the MI fielders nor the bowler appealed, while the snicko later showed a clear spike.
Abhishek was far more secure as he started with a lofted six over extra cover off Bumrah, whose first over went for 14 runs. Will Jacks was brought in the fourth over, probably three overs too late, and was smoked for 19 runs, as both batsmen hit him straight for boundaries.
Bumrah was clattered for 18 runs in the 6th over, and the powerplay score was 92/0; luck or no luck, SRH were clearly bossing the chase. The MI strike bowler was being hit all over the park and options were limited. Abhishek, for all his attractive strokes, was almost playing second fiddle to Travis Head, who was infuriating the MI bowlers with a mix of sublime and ridiculous.
Head reached his half-century off 20 balls, courtesy of one of the drops by Naman, which incidentally was signalled as a six. Ashwani Kumar conceded 23 runs in his first over. At 126/0 off 8 overs, the game was going away from MI.
Middle over wickets boost MI
The asking rate was less than 10, and Abhishek tried to loft Ghazanfar on the leg side, only to get a leading edge towards short third and was dismissed for a fine 45 off 24 balls. Next ball, Ishan Kishan misread the spin and dragged onto his stumps for a first-ball duck. Head was finally dismissed off a low full toss as he lobbed it straight to cover. At 134/3 off 10 overs, MI saw an opening.
Klaasen shuts down MI bowlers
Klaasen had looked rusty at the beginning of the IPL. Despite getting runs, the flow was missing. However, with each innings, the strike rate has improved, and he has been looking increasingly fluent. The next two overs by Ghazanfar and Ashwani were thumped for a combined 34 runs. Shots all over extra cover, midwicket and straight hits were all smashed with power and precision as the ball bisected the outfielders for boundaries. A lofted cover drive off Bumrah for a six was the highlight of the innings.
Bumrah was distinctly off colour and the fact that he averages 132 this IPL has clearly hampered MI’s campaign. Nitish Reddy supported Klaasen well and was dismissed for 21 off 17 balls, with only 31 required in 22 balls. Salil Arora came in and played a dazzling cameo of 30 off 10 balls, and Klaasen remained not out on 65 off 30 balls as SRH cantered home to victory.
SRH won with 6 wickets, and MI’s IPL dream is almost dashed. Some of the decision-making was dubious, at best. Their batting lineup started with only seven batsmen, including two all-rounders and a batsman with minimal IPL experience. The impact substitute Shardul Thakur was brought in the 2nd innings and didn’t get a bowl. Their batting was fine, but the few quiet overs in the first innings and the fielding blunders cost them the match at the end.