Stellar bowling performance by SRH help them defend the lowest total in this season’s IPL
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) put on a spectacular performance to bowl out the Mumbai Indians (MI) for just 87 runs and register their first ever win at the Wankhede on Tuesday. With star performer Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing the game due to injury, SRH started with Sandeep Sharma who stepped up to the occasion giving away just nine runs in his three overs while also picking up the wicket of the dangerous Evin Lewis early in the innings.
The Sunrisers also handed debuts to Basil Thampi and Mohammad Nabi who chipped in with a wicket each. However, the night’s top performer was the young spinner from Afghanistan Rashid Khan, who picked up two wickets and gave away just 11 runs in his four overs.
Earlier in the game, MI captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first. His decision seemed justified as his bowlers tore into the Sunrisers line-up dismissing them for just 118 runs. Young Mayank Markande picked up two wickets to take his season’s tally to 10, awarding him with the purple cap for the highest wickets taken in the IPL so far.
Sharma will be disappointed in his batsmen though as only Suryakumar Yadav (34) and Krunal Pandya (24) were able to reach double figures. The win leaves Mumbai languishing in seventh position in the points table and sees the Sunrisers move up to third.
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Catch all the highlights from the game here
Turning point
The turning point of the game was when Sunrisers captain Kane Williamson gave the ball to debutant Basil Thampi to bowl the 15th over. Thampi bowling his first over in the IPL scalped the in-form Suryakumar Yadav in the penultimate ball of his over, thus ending all hopes of a Mumbai comeback.
Best Dismissal
The best dismissal came in the first innings when Mayank Markande bowled out Nabi with his very first delivery in the 12th over. Markande pitched a googly down the off side which Nabi completely failed to read and the ball turned in finding its way between bat and pad to go crashing into the stumps.
Batsman of the Match
In a game where the batsmen struggled, Suryakumar Yadav was the lone performer as he scored 34 off 38 deliveries. He was the only hope that Mumbai had for a comeback and his wicket in the 14th over spelled the end for a struggling Mumbai unit.
Bowler of the Match
Rashid Khan who picked up two wickets in his four overs giving away just 11 runs in a man of the match performance was without doubt the Bowler of the Match. His economy rate of 2.75 was the best among all the bowlers in the match who bowled more than two overs.
Captain’s views
Kane Williamson (SRH captain), “Clearly a tough surface. Without a doubt we were expecting a lot more from ourselves with the bat. Set out that if we had 140, we'd have enough runs. Turns out 120 was enough. It is good fun, T20, so much is happening so quickly. All together it was a fantastic second half for us. Once again, we haven't been able to put a collective performance together. There is depth in our squad which is important. A number of injuries, a change in balance. But the best part of it was how the guys were engaged in the second half.”
Rohit Sharma (MI captain), “Got ourselves to blame. 118 on any wicket, we should have been able to get that. We just weren't there. Very happy with how the bowlers bowled. Our batters let us down again. There are so many things I want to talk about, but I don't want to pinpoint. We won't drop our heads. We needed to show some intent but we didn't. It was always going to be tough, the shot-making wasn't going to be easy, but they kept us guessing all the time. A few of us played bad shots including myself.”
What’s next
Sunrisers will head home for their next fixture as they host current table toppers Kings XI Punjab on Thursday. The Mumbai Indians have a bit of a break ahead of them before they travel for their next outing against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
Points table
The win takes the Sunrisers up to third position on the points table and leaves Mumbai at the bottom in seventh position. Check out the updated points table here.