Mumbai ended their hopes of a hat-trick of titles despite victory over Hyderabad on Friday. After Kolkata’s comprehensive win over Rajasthan, Mumbai had an improbable task at their hands. The five-time champions had to bat first and win the match by 170 runs or more. Mumbai couldn’t reach the playoffs but concluded their campaign on a winning note. Hyderabad, too, produced a fighting performance, much to the excitement of cricket fans.
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, who received plenty of flak after poor outings in the UAE leg so far, played staggering knocks to help Mumbai post a mammoth 235. Jason Holder bagged his maiden four-wicket haul in the Indian T20 League. Hyderabad opening duo Jason Roy and Abhishek Sharma, stand-in captain Manish Pandey, and Priyam Garg excelled with the bat.
Unreal start
Kishan made Mumbai’s intentions clear after hammering Mohammad Nabi over the midwicket for a six in just the second ball of the match. The youngster hit four successive boundaries off Siddarth Kaul in the next over. Nabi conceded 15 in his second. Pandey brought Holder early, but three fours and a six came off his first six balls. Kishan reached his fifty in just 16 balls – the fastest in the 2021 edition. The onslaught continued as Mumbai piled up 78 runs in five overs.
In a relief for Pandey, Rashid Khan removed Rohit Sharma in the last over of the powerplay. Hardik Pandya came to the crease ahead of Suryakumar at No 3. Kishan dispatched Umran Malik for a six and slog-swept Rashid for another maximum. Hardik, too, took the Afghanistan spin wizard to the cleaners. However, the all-rounder holed out to long-on off the bowling of Holder. A few balls later, Kishan, too, perished. The wicketkeeper-batsman departed for 84 off just 32 balls.
Sensational Suryakumar
Suryakumar resumed from where Kishan left off. Though wickets fell at regular intervals, it didn’t stop him from playing the attacking shots. He hit the ball to all parts of the ground. Meanwhile, Abhishek struck twice in his lone over with the wickets of Kieron Pollard and James Neesham. But Suryakumar responded with a four and a six in the next over. Mumbai lost the wicket of Krunal Pandya in the 16th over.
The 31-year-old reached his fifty courtesy of a four, and Mumbai also went past 200. He hammered Kaul, Holder, and Malik in the death overs. With six balls remaining in the innings, 250 looked realistic. Holder gave away just five runs and bagged two wickets in the final over. Suryakumar made his way back to the pavilion after scoring a stunning 82. Mumbai posted 235.
Openers up to the task
The Hyderabad openers made a dashing start to the run chase. They added 60 runs in the first five overs. Roy scored boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah and Piyush Chawla. Abhishek registered Hyderabad’s first six of the match. Bumrah struggled to find his rhythm and gave away 16 in his second. Abhishek struck three successive fours in Nathan Coulter-Nile’s first over.
Boult broke the stand after Roy was caught at fine-leg by Krunal. Mumbai grabbed Abhishek’s wicket, too, immediately. Coulter-Nile took a comfortable catch near the boundary line to remove him for a 16-ball 33.
Mumbai pile the pressure
Hyderabad found themselves in a spot as they lost Nabi and Abdul Samad in the space of four balls, leaving Pandey a mountain to climb. The stand-in captain and new man Garg made 16 off Neesham’s third. Pandey cleared the ropes and scored a boundary off Coulter-Nile in the 15th over. They needed 80 runs off 30 balls. However, Bumrah, in his second spell, removed Garg for 29.
Pandey, who brought up his 21st Indian T20 League fifty, saw Holder, Rashid, and Saha depart quickly. Hyderabad fell short by 42 runs despite a fighting 69* from Pandey, who didn’t feature in the squad in the last four matches. He finished as Hyderabad’s leading run-scorer this season with 292 runs.
Mumbai finished fifth in the points table with seven wins from 14 games. Bumrah had reasons to cheer for in the victory. The pacer went past the 20-wicket mark in a second successive season. Indian fans would have been delighted to see Kishan and Suryakumar among the runs ahead of the World Cup.
Mumbai 235/9 in 20 overs (I Kishan 84, S Yadav 82; J Holder 4/52, A Sharma 2/4, R Khan 2/40)
Hyderabad 193/8 in 20 overs (M Pandey 69*, J Roy 34; J Neesham 2/28, J Bumrah 2/39, N Coulter-Nile 2/40)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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