Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters lit fireworks at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium as the Pat Cummins-led side registered its first win in style by smashing the highest total in the IPL against Mumbai Indians.
Sunrisers rode on fifties from Travis Head (62, 24b, 9x4, 3x6), Abhishek Sharma (63, 23b, 3x4, 7x6) and Heinrich Klaasen (80, 34b, 4x4, 7x6) to post a massive 277/3, eclipsing Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 263/5, posted in 2013. In what was a high-scoring thriller, where over 500 runs were scored, Mumbai went down fighting as the visitor ended at 246/5 with the Sunrisers pocketing the match by 31 runs.
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After suffering gut-wrenching losses in their opening fixtures, Sunrisers got back into winning ways comprehensively while Mumbai continues its search for the first win of the season. Tilak Varma starred with a sensational half-century but his fightback went in vain.
Records tumble
Abhishek hit the fastest IPL fifty by an SRH batter in 16 balls, beating Head’s record of 18 balls from earlier in the game. Klaasen and Aiden Markram, with an unbeaten 116-run partnership, raised the bar further by registering the highest fourth-wicket partnership for SRH.
Kwena Maphana makes debut
Jasprit Bumrah once again had to wait for his turn as Kwena Maphana, who became the third youngest overseas player to debut in IPL, steamed in with the new ball after Mumbai opted to bowl first. Skipper Hardik Pandya shared the new ball with Maphaka but Travis Head and Mayank Agarwal gave Sunrisers a bright start with a full house enjoying Head’s fireworks. It was a poor call from the new Mumbai skipper, as Bumrah emerged to be the best of the lot, but Sunrisers were up and running when the pacer was introduced into the attack.
Sunrisers boss PowerPlay
Head was given an early chance as Tim David dropped him at mid-off in Pandya’s first ball with the batsman batting on 5 and the Australian made sure Mumbai paid the price by punishing Maphaka for 22 runs in the third over. The South African, who made his debut after being picked as a replacement for Dilshan Madushanka, came under a cropper as Head smashed two consecutive sixes - first over long-on and then a fierce pull over the deep mid-wicket. The flow of runs continued with two back-to-back boundaries.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
Agarwal had a forgettable outing as Pandya, switching ends, surprised the batsman with a short delivery, and the opener couldn’t connect the pull as David held the catch this time at mid-on to end the 45-run opening stand. Although the Sunrisers lost a wicket, Head got to his fifty in 18 deliveries with a solid club through mid-off and then finished the PowerPlay with a firm pull over the deep square leg. With 81 runs in the bank inside the PowerPlay, the march towards posting a big total was on.
In front of a boisterous full house, where fans cheered every shot, spin was introduced just after the PowerPlay but Mumbai continued to leak runs as Abhishek Sharma blasted Piyush Chawla over the backward square leg to bring the fifty-run partnership and then brought the 100 in style with a six over the long-on. Gerald Coetzee broke the 68-run stand by dismissing Head who was pouched at deep mid-wicket.
Abhishek trumps Head
There was no stopping for Abhishek as he stole the record for the fastest half-century by an SRH batsman in a space of 20 balls-- his knock laced with six sixes and two boundaries. Chawla finally got a breakthrough by removing Abhishek, who fell for a brilliant 23-ball 63. The 200 was up in the 15th over with Klaasen nailing a Bumrah short delivery for a maximum.
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The Klaasen-Markram Show
The second fifty-run partnership of the innings was up as both Klaasen and Markram continued to belt the Mumbai bowlers. It wasn’t an evening to remember for young Maphaka who made a costly debut by leaking 66 runs in his quota of four overs. Runs came thick and fast on a belter of a track as Klaasen reached his half-century in 23 balls.
The 100-run partnership was up as a plethora of landmarks came down crashing with Klaasen bringing up the highest team score in the IPL with a couple of sixes, the one over long-on being the pick of the shot as the last five overs yielded 75 runs without any wicket. Mumbai offered gifts and the Orange Army batters gleefully accepted them with Klaasen once again top-scoring with an unbeaten 80 off 34 balls and picking up the Orange Cap.
The chase
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan came out all guns blazing as the opening pair forged a brilliant 56-run partnership in 20 balls, with Rohit taking on Jaydev Unadkat with back-to-back sixes and then Ishan looting 23 runs from Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over. However, it was Tilak Varma who turned the course of the game and gave Mumbai hope with a 24-ball half-century.
Mumbai Indians’ Tilak Varma plays a reverse shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
Sunrisers needed a breakthrough and Unadkat returned to end the 84-run partnership between Tilak and Naman Dhir. Tilak played a scintillating knock, keeping Mumbai in the run chase with some ferocious hits. The southpaw took the aerial route to unsettle the bowlers, found the gaps at ease and destroyed Shahbaz Ahmed’s economical figures by smashing 22 runs in an over.
The chase, however, fizzled out when Cummins returned into the attack to remove Tilak, who fell for a brilliant 34-ball 64. Pandya, who started with a bang by smashing a six and a boundary, was joined by Tim David but the spell by Cummins, where he gave three runs in his over, saw the game swing in the home side’s favour.
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