Suryakumar Yadav (102 not out), Hardik Pandya (three wickets) and Piyush Chawla (three scalps) were the key performers, as the beleaguered Mumbai Indians usurped Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to get back to winning ways at the Wankhede. MI went past SRH’s total of 174 in the 18th over.
Three-way race for two spots
MI are in the ninth place with eight points. The real competition for the playoffs is between Chennai Super Kings, SRH and Lucknow Super Giants, with all three teams having 12 points after 11 matches. Kolkata Knight Riders (16 from 11) and Rajasthan Royals (16 from 10) are well placed to take the first two places.
Suryakumar-Tilak’s game-changing stand
At 31 for 3, MI were in all kinds of trouble. Suryakumar then proceeded to play a quintessential innings. He shuffled across the stumps to play pick-up shots and flicks off Marco Jansen. He also cracked a few lofts down the ground, which would have brought cheers to the MI camp, as he is exactly renowned for his batting prowess in that area. He reached his hundred in style, with a slew of pulls off Pat Cummins in the 17th. He also provided the finishing touches. Tilak Varma played his role with a patient 37 as the pair stitched an unbeaten partnership of 143.
Hardik-Chawla duet makes an impression
At 90 for 2 in the 11th over, with Travis Head still at the crease, the SRH camp would have eyed a substantial total. However, at that juncture, Head swept Chawla straight to deep backward square-leg. Chawla then bagged the prized scalp of Heinrich Klaasen, with the wicketkeeper-batter dragging one onto the stumps. Chawla followed it up by dismissing Abdul Samad and finished with figures of 3 for 33. Hardik bagged the scalps of Shahbaz Ahmed, Jansen and Nitish Reddy. His figures read three for 31 from four overs.
Head continues to torment
The SRH opener was dropped once off Anshul Kamboj and was also castled by the same bowler. The debutant, however, overstepped, so despite cleaning up Head, he wasn’t rewarded. In-between, Head played his trademark heaves across the line. Ultimately, he fell for a 30-ball 48. Kamboj, the debutant, dislodged Mayank Agarwal to bag his maiden IPL wicket.