Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their glimpse of hope alive for qualifying for the playoffs after a thrilling last-over win over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. It was a must-win game for them after 5 successive defeats. Although their net run rate is still negative which can decide their fate in this year’s tournament even if they win their next game.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first at Wankhede Stadium. SRH shuffled their opening pair for this game. Kane Williamson dropped his batting position to give Priyam Garg the chance to open with Abhishek Sharma. Rahul Tripathy played a sensational knock to help SRH post 193 on the board. In the second innings, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan gave MI a solid start. However, they failed to chase down the total and fell short by 3 runs. MI skipper said his team was not consistent with the ball which cost them this match.
“Till about the second to last over, I thought we had it. Unfortunate run out of Tim David but we thought we were very much in the game till that run out. Even 19 runs to go with two overs, you would back yourself to get that but unfortunately, we could not do it. Credit to Sunrisers to hold their nerve. It was a very tense moment and they held their nerve very well at the back end,” Rohit said.
“We were not consistent with the ball upfront and that can happen. But I thought it was a great effort towards the back end. With the bat, we came pretty close but couldn’t finish it off.”
Let’s look at the major talking points from the MI vs SRH encounter –
Williamson dropped himself from the opening slot
For the first time this season, the SRH skipper dropped his batting spot to the lower middle order to send Priyam Garg up the order with Abhishek Sharma. Garg fully utilized his role with a solid knock of 42 from 26. Williamson had a horror season with the bat as he had an average below 20 with a strike rate below 100. Kane will not feature in the next game for the SRH as he went back to his home for the birth of his second child. Which means there will be a new captain for SRH in the next match, and possibly next season as well?
Outstanding Tripathi in MI vs SRH
Arguably the best uncapped Indian player in the IPL for some seasons now, Tripathy produced another masterclass of an innings for SRH. Coming in at number 3, Tripathy smashed a 44 ball 76 which included 9 fours and 3 sixes. These innings take his total tally to 393 runs for the season. Surely he deserves India call up now.
Umran Malik turns the game again
Defending 193, SRH bowlers were getting smashed all over the park by Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan as the opening pair put up a 95 run partnership. Umran Malik arrived with his firepower and turned the game completely picking up Ishan Kishan, Daniel Sams and Tilak Varma. He finished the spell with 3/23 in 3 overs.
Priceless maiden 19th over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in MI vs SRH
MI was right back into the game courtesy of Tim David. He was looking in his best touch and almost took MI home with a blistering knock of 46 from 18 balls. With 19 required from the last two overs, almost everyone will bet on the batting side to win the match at Wankhede but it was Bhuvi with the ball. The veteran pacer produced magic with the ball and delivered a wicket maiden in the 19th over.
