Suryakumar Yadav's special hundred after a disciplined bowling effort set up Mumbai Indians' seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in Mumbai on Monday. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
Suryakumar smashed 102 not out off 51 balls for his second IPL hundred, taking his team to an emphatic win in 17.2 overs. SRH had recovered to post 173 for eight.
The win lifted Mumbai Indians from the bottom of the points table to the ninth spot while SRH, despite the loss, remained fourth with 12 points in 11 games.
Joining forces inside the powerplay with MI left reeling at 31 for three, the pair of Suryakumar and Tilak Varma (37 not out off 32 balls) did a superb recovery job with a 143-run unbeaten stand to script a comprehensive victory. Suryakumar's sensational knock included 12 fours and half a dozen sixes.
For that matter, MI could have been reduced to 31/4 had a Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivery in the fifth over not pitched outside the leg stump with the veteran seamer pinning Varma in front of the wickets.
Ishan Kishan (9) perished early once again while Naman Dhir (0) endured a nine-ball duck.
With their backs against the wall, Suryakumar picked Marco Jansen to attack as he collected 22 runs off the seventh over with two sixes and two fours to begin his job.
But shortly after he completed his fifty off 30 balls, Suryakumar was seen stretching and wincing in pain while looking to manage a strain, presumably to his groin — one of the reasons why he missed cricket for nearly four months from late last year.
However, to his credit, the world No. 1 T20 batter hung around till the end to take MI over the line as he finished the game with a flurry of boundaries — two sixes and as many fours off his last four balls.
Apart from Suryakumar’s struggles while batting, the decline in Rohit Sharma’s form also came to the fore with the India captain mistiming one to be dismissed for a mere four — his fourth score in single digits this IPL in the last five outings.
Earlier in the first half, Pandya struck form before the T20 World Cup while veteran Chawla also bagged three wickets as Mumbai Indians restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to a below-par total.
Pandya found rhythm and momentum to return 4-0-31-3 while Chawla (4-0-33-3) produced an impactful performance to trouble the SRH batters.
However, to his credit, SRH skipper Pat Cummins chipped in with a 17-ball 35 (2x4s, 2x6s) late in the innings to take them past the 150-run mark.
In complete contrast to the last time these teams met earlier in this IPL when SRH hammered 277/3, their usually free-flowing batters struggled for momentum and lack of initiative meant they could never really trouble the Mumbai bowlers.
Travis Head top scored with 48 while skipper Pat Cummins made a quick 17-ball 35 not out.
