IPL 2021: Kishan, Suryakumar record fifties earn MI win, but miss out on playoffs

The win wasn’t enough to keep its title campaign alive as Mumbai Indians failed to make it to the Playoffs, losing the fourth-place battle to Kolkata Knight Riders on net run rate.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan celebrate their fifties against Hyderabad.

Ishan Kishan (84, 32b, 11x4, 4x6) and Suryakumar Yadav (82, 40b, 13x4, 3x6) smashed their fastest fifites - in 16 and 24 balls, respectively - in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to set up Mumbai Indians’ (MI) 42-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in its last league game.

However, the win wasn’t enough to keep its title campaign alive as Mumbai Indians failed to make it to the Playoffs, losing the fourth-place battle to Kolkata Knight Riders on net run rate.

MI vs SRH - Highlights

MI knew that it was virtually a mission impossible to progress to the Playoffs as it had to bat first and win by at least 170 runs. While Rohit Sharma won the toss to achieve the first objective, Ishan and Suryakumar's whirlwind knocks ensured Mumbai piled up 235 for nine, the highest total of IPL 2021.

However, despite the torrid season Sunrisers has had, restricting them below 64 was a near-impossible task for MI. Once Jason Roy and Abhishek Sharma got off to a quick start, the writing was on the wall for Mumbai Indians.

The Sunrisers' start was nowhere close to the opening flurry by Ishan, with Rohit being awestruck at the other end. The Powerplay saw 14 fours and two sixes, with Rohit contributing only three of them.

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While Ishan ensured that his fifty versus Rajasthan Royals three nights ago wasn’t a fluke, dominating the first half of the innings with audacious strokeplay, Suryakumar took over the mantle in the latter half.

With none of the others being able to strike as consistently as the duo, wickets were tumbling regularly. But it was overshadowed by Suryakumar’s combination of conventional drives, and clever nudges and glides behind the wicket.

Despite the loss, Sunrisers also entered record books. Manish Pandey became the first cricketer to have captained an IPL team having played 100-plus games and then scored an unbeaten 69 (41b, 7x4, 2x6). He also showed his acumen as a leader by placing Jason Roy bang behind the umpire for Kieron Pollard to see the batsman hitting straight to him. Mohammad Nabi then became the first fielder in IPL history to pluck five catches in the outfield.

Despite the duo’s records, the last night of IPL 2021 at Abu Dhabi will be remembered for Ishan and Suryakumar’s onslaught. And the duo’s return to form ahead of the T20 World Cup augurs well for India’s fans.