The Mumbai Indians posted their second successive win in VIVO IPL 2017 when they defeated table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 wickets on Wednesday evening. After putting the visitors in to bat, MI did extremely well to restrict the defending champions to 158-8, after which they chased down the runs in 18.4 overs.
The MI opening pair of Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler came out all guns blazing at the start of the run-chase and stitched together a 28-run opening stand in the first three overs. MI lost Buttler (bowled by Ashish Nehra) and skipper Rohit Sharma (dismissed leg before by Rashid Khan) in successive overs and were in a spot at 41 for 2.
But Parthiv, in the company of Nitish Rana, added 38 in 4.5 overs before the former’s chip shot landed in the hands of Bhuvneshwar Kumar at long-on; Parthiv (39 from 24 balls) was dismissed in the thirties yet again, though he’d played a very exciting innings and had set the foundation for the run-chase.
Kieron Pollard was dismissed soon after he’d nonchalantly flicked one over the square leg boundary. MI needed a further 48 from 38 balls at this stage.
If it was Hardik Pandya who starred in MI’s win against KKR on Sunday, on this occasion it was the elder Pandya who did damage with the bat; Krunal, in the company of Nitish Rana picked up a few quick boundaries to take MI closer. Krunal scored 37 from 20 balls (three boundaries and three sixes) before he hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar down the throat of midwicket, while Nitish Rana (45 from 36 balls) had his woodwork rearranged later in the same over.
Hardik Pandya (2 from 3 balls) and Harbhajan Singh (3 from 3 balls) completed the honours as MI got across the finish line in the 19th over.
For SRH, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most successful bowler, returning with three wickets. Rashid Khan was the most impressive though; the leg-spin bowler finished with figures of 1-19 from his four overs. Ashish Nehra (1-46) and Deepak Hooda (1-18) were the other wicket-takers.
Earlier in the evening the Sunrisers’ innings was a part of two halves. When Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner were at the crease, it appeared SRH were headed towards a total in excess of 180. But after Warner was dismissed in the eleventh over – with the score on 81, SRH lost momentum and could only add a further 77 in the remaining 9.4 overs, to eventually finish at 158-8.
Dhawan started cautiously, while his captain Warner played his natural game, taking the attack to the bowlers. SRH reached 34-0 by the time the field restrictions were relaxed; Dhawan 7 (15 balls), Warner 26 (21 balls) after six overs.
In the seventh over, Dhawan exploded; he hit Mitchell McClenaghan for two boundaries and a six. In the eighth over, the Indian opener got lucky when a catch by Krunal Pandya was referred to the TV Umpire, who decided there was not enough evidence to rule that the catch had been completed cleanly, and hence stayed with the on-field Umpire’s initial ‘not out’ soft signal.
Warner continued to be aggressive; in the eleventh over, he switch-hit Harbhajan Singh for a six. The following delivery, he attempted a reverse sweep, but mishit it and Parthiv Patel stayed alert to the possibility of a wicket; the diminutive wicket-keeper ran swiftly in pursuit of the ball, dived and stretched full length to take an exceptional catch. Warner made 49 from 34 balls, which contained seven boundaries and two sixes.
Dhawan carried on to make 48 before he attempted to heave a McClenaghan full toss in the fifteenth over but made no contact and had his stumps disturbed. SRH lost four wickets, including that of Ben Cutting (20 from 10 balls), in the last 2.2 overs.
For MI, the bulk of the damage was done by Harbhajan Singh and Jasprit Bumrah. The off-spinner, who opened the bowling and then returned to bowl two more overs in the middle period, finished with figures of 2-23. Bumrah’s first wicket was that of the dangerous Cutting – courtesy a searing yorker, after which the speedster added two more scalps in the final over to eventually finish with figures of 3-24. Lasith Malinga, playing his 100th IPL match for MI, McClenaghan and Hardik Pandya picked up a wicket each.
Brief Scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 158-8 David Warner 49, Shikhar Dhawan 48, Jasprit Bumrah 3-24, Harbhajan Singh 2-23
Mumbai Indians: 159-6 in 18.4 Overs Nitish Rana 45, Parthiv Patel 39, Krunal Pandya 37, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-21
Man of the Match: Jasprit Bumrah
