SYNOPSIS: Suryakumar Yadav hits a blistering century as Mumbai Indians make Sunrisers Hyderabad’s play-off race harder
There was a point during Mumbai Indians’ chase when it looked 174 was beyond their reach. In the Powerplay, they went 20 straight deliveries without a run off the bat as they lost Ishan Kishan (9), Rohit Sharma (4) and Naman Dhir (0) in that phase. A disappointing season was beginning to get a lot worse. There were no traces of the team that looked title material when the season began. As Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma too lived dangerously, they cut a sorry figure, waiting for their campaign to end and pack their bags.
But an hour later with Suryakumar finding his flow back, they gave enough optimism to their fans and those of several other teams, who desperately wanted Sunrisers Hyderabad to falter. With Hyderabad’s new ball bowlers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen and Pat Cummins – coming aggressively in search of wickets, Suryakumar counter-attacked. The 50-run partnership between Suryakumar and Varma came in just 28 deliveries; a remarkable turnaround from where they were in the Powerplay. Hyderabad then conceded just 10 runs in three overs as Mumbai were 84/3 at the halfway stage of the chase.
From there, it was entirely Suryakumar who owned the night. For a batsman who was injured till well into the IPL campaign, it was a timely knock that would have helped him regain confidence. That early in his innings, Jansen fed him with deliveries in his arc would have helped a great deal as well. After riding his luck against Bhuvneshwar and Cummins to fetch a boundary and six, it was against Jansen that Suryakumar started to free his arms. His second six, when he walked across and lofted the ball over fine-leg, showed his intentions. And after going through a brief lull, when he scored only two boundaries between the 7th and 13th overs, the return of Jansen, allowed him to open up again.
📸 That picture perfect moment for Mumbai Indians 💙
Suryakumar Yadav leads #MI to victory with another special innings from him 👌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/iZHeIP3ZRx#TATAIPL | #MIvSRH pic.twitter.com/HJeeO0lmr3
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 6, 2024
By now, he was beginning to limp as well. Minimising the singles and twos, off the last 18 balls he faced, Surykumar scored 43 runs, including two boundaries and a six – all via pulls shots off Cummins’ three successive slower deliveries. A six off Natarjan sealed Mumbai’s win and also brought up his century. Varma remained unbeaten on 37 as the 143-run stand ensured Hyderabad’s net run rate took a massive hit.
Digging their own grave
After the defeat, there is plenty to ponder for Hyderabad. They now appear a side slightly short on balance, especially with the bat. Before the season began, all eyes were on how Hyderabad would make full use of their resources. Apart from having remarkable squad depth, they were spoilt for choice when it came to picking their four overseas picks. They didn’t sweat when Wanindu Hasaranga pulled out with injury. That Glenn Phillips, a marauder in the middle order and one who could have walked into any XI thanks to his multidimensional capabilities, is yet to play this season, should be a good indicator of how Hyderabad are spoilt for choice.
But as the tournament gets to the business end and Hyderabad racing alongside teams like Chennai and Lucknow for a play-off berth, they are showing signs of pressing the panic button. After starting with Mayank Agarwal and Travis Head, they quickly moved with pairing Abhishek Sharma with the Aussie. It was against Mumbai that Hyderabad set the trend of humongous totals.
As the play-off spot still looks uncertain, it would be interesting to see where Hyderabad go from here. When they dropped Aiden Markram, it came as a surprise. In a batting line-up that’s not short on resources when it comes to displaying intent, Markram’s omission means the batting depth required while embracing a bold approach has gone missing. And as the pitches begin to show signs of slowing down, they are short on a spinner as well, with Mayank Markande, often an Impact Player, nowhere in the picture. That they sent in Sanvir Singh as the Impact Player at No.9 showed a hint of desperation as well.
At the Wankhede as Hyderabad lost their fourth wicket, in-walked Marco Jansen. With Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins and Shahbaz Ahmed being the next three, had Mumbai’s attack been relentless and their fielding not lacklustre, they would not have let Hyderabad put 173 runs on board. In successive matches, even with Markram around, once their top three faltered, their chase had fizzled out. But as they move forward, they are in a spot where they have to take a hard look at their resources. Mayank Agarwal at No.3 hardly inspires confidence.
It was a night when Hyderabad’s batsmen rode their luck with Head starting off with two boundaries off an inside edge that narrowly missed the woodwork. Then on 24, debutant Anshul Kamboj bowled him off a no-ball. On 45, Nuwan Thushara dropped him at third man before Piyush Chawla came on and had Head caught at deep square-leg for 48. From there on, the usual intent that one saw with Hyderabad went missing. That they managed 173/8 was largely down to Cummins’ unbeaten 35, but it was way short of a par score.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 173/8 in 20 overs (Head 48, Cummins 35; Hardik 3/31, Piyush Chawla 3/33) lost to Mumbai Indians 174/3 in 17.2 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 102 not out, Tilak Varma 37 not out; Bhuvneshwar 1/22) by 7 wickets
