Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 150 for 5 (De Kock 40, Pollard 35*, Shankar 2-19, ) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137 All Out (Bairstow 43, Chahar 3-139 by 13 Runs
Mumbai Indians are yet to play their best game in the tournament, but still, they have managed to register two wins in three games. On Saturday they claimed their second consecutive win this season after beating SRH by 13 runs.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Mumbai managed 150 runs in the first innings. It proved enough for SRH’s fragile batting line-up, who fell 13 runs short in the end.
Here’s a look at three major talking points of the game:
MI’s Bowling Attack Comes To Tts Rescue Once Again At Chepauk
Chasing 150, Jonny Bairstow (43) had almost sealed the game for SRH before he got out hit-wicket in the eighth over of the second innings. 84 runs were needed in just 82 balls when he went back to the pavilion. What followed was a sensational piece of bowling from Mumbai Indians combined with two terrific run-outs from Hardik Pandya.
Manish Pandey (2) was the second one to go after his attempt to hit Rahul Chahar over long-off for a six failed as Kieron Pollard took the catch. Hardik Pandya then came into the act as his rocket arm throw at covers hit the wicket to send a set batsman in David Warner (36) back to the pavilion. It was time for the spinners to get into the act after that. Rahul Chahar broke the back of SRH as he claimed the wickets of Virat Singh (11) and Abhishek Sharma (2). Rahul Chahar finished with 3/19.
Vijay Shankar (28) hit two sixes in the 16th over off Krunal Pandya to shift the momentum in favour of SRH. However, the arrival of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult for the final four overs sealed the game for MI as the duo bundled SRH out for 137 in 19.4 overs. Boult picked 3 for 28 in 3.4 overs, while Jasprit Bumrah returned figures of 1 for 14 in 4 overs.
SRH Middle Order Woes Continue
Who would have thought that SRH would lose the game after witnessing Jonny Bairstow’s blitz in the powerplay? When David Warner went back to the pavilion as the third wicket, 61 runs were needed in 51 balls. However, the fragile middle-order once again gave up while chasing.
The wicket was tough to bat on but this wasn’t the first time it happened with SRH this season. The likes of Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad couldn’t contribute much to the teams’ cause as SRH’s middle-order woes continue to haunt them. SRH have now lost three consecutive games and are the only side to not have won a single game in the tournament. They ought to come up with their strongest eleven sooner than later if they fancy their chances for the playoffs.
Pollard’s (35*) Late Blitz Gave Mumbai Indians Hope
Kieron Pollard has struggled to adapt to the conditions at Chepauk. He didn’t have the greatest of outings in the last two games. Today, he was sent in ahead of Hardik Pandya to get his eye in. He took his time and negotiated the good balls.
Pollard struggled to connect the ball on most occasions but still ended up scoring a valuable knock of 35 runs off 22 balls. His two sixes on the last two balls of the innings off Bhuvneshwar Kumar eventually proved to be the difference in the game.
Questions To Be Answered
Will Kedar Jadhav be included in the next game?
Sunrisers Hyderabad needs an experienced player to strengthen their middle order. Yet, they opted for youngsters ahead of Kedar Jadhav in the squad. Ahead of the next game against Punjab, will Kedar Jadhav be included in the eleven or SRH will continue with the same eleven?
What Lies Ahead For Both Sides?
Mumbai Indians would be happy to have won their last two games. They are now sitting at the top of the points table with 4 points. They will take on Delhi Capitals in their next game on Tuesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad haven’t yet found their best eleven this season. They ought to come up with their best possible eleven and stick around with them for the next few games.
Records Broken:
1. Rohit Sharma has completed 4000 Runs for Mumbai Indians
2. Quinton de Kock has completed 2,000 runs in the IPL. He has become the 39th batsman in IPL history to do so.
3. Pollard has become the sixth batsman with 200-plus sixes in IPL
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