Sunrisers Hyderabad did well to recover from 105/3 in the 15th over to post a fighting 162 on a slow and sluggish Wankhede Stadium pitch. However, it didn’t prove to be enough, as Mumbai Indians completed the run chase in 18.1 overs to win the IPL game by four wickets and register their third win of the season.
MI got off to a brisk start with Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton finding early boundaries. Rohit looked in ominous touch, launching three sixes, but his promising innings ended when he hit a full toss straight to Travis Head. Rickelton made a solid 31 off 23 before falling to a clever slower ball from Harshal Patel.
SRH bowlers struggled for consistency. Mohammed Shami and Ehsan Malinga leaked runs, while young Zeeshan Ansari bore the brunt of some clean hitting from Will Jacks and Suryakumar Yadav. The pair stitched together a crucial 52-run stand, keeping the scoreboard ticking with regular boundaries and not allowing the required rate to climb.
Suryakumar, like Rohit, got a start but failed to capitalise, which has been a recurring theme this season. Jacks, under pressure due to poor form, played a handy knock of 36 to steady the chase. In the end, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma came in with intent and finished things off in style, ensuring MI wrapped up the game quickly and gave their net run rate a much-needed boost.
Barring skipper Pat Cummins, none of the SRH bowlers managed to make a telling impact, which proved crucial in their inability to defend what was a par score on the night.
The nature of the pitch demanded that batters to dig deep to find boundaries. The sluggishness of the surface made fluent strokeplay nearly impossible, and the innings moved forward like a car stuck in traffic — slow, frustrating and constantly stalling.
It wasn’t for lack of effort; SRH’s batters swung with intent, as they typically do. However, the slight moisture on the deck made it a bit tacky, preventing the ball from flying off the bat as it normally does. Power-hitters like Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy found the going tough, finishing with strike rates below a run a ball.
No SRH batter managed to reach fifty, largely due to a lack of application, with Abhishek Sharma being the highest scorer with 40. Right from the outset, they struggled to gain momentum. Head and Abhishek stitched together a 59-run stand, their slowest ever while batting together, relying heavily on luck to keep their innings afloat.
Even though MI lost Karn Sharma to a hand injury while fielding, the impact was minimal. Jacks stepped up with the ball, removing both Head and Ishan Kishan.
Jacks, along with Pandya, did well to control the middle overs and tighten the screws. A late surge, 21 runs off the 18th over and 22 off the final one, propelled SRH to a competitive total. Contributions from Klaasen, Cummins and Aniket Verma proved vital in dragging the innings to a respectable finish.