Rohit Sharma smashed a scintillating 70 off 46 deliveries to lead Mumbai Indians (MI) to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their IPL clash on Wednesday. The win—achieved with 26 balls to spare—marked MI’s fifth of the season and propelled them to third place on the points table.
Chasing a modest target of 144, Mumbai faced an early hiccup when Ryan Rickelton departed for 11 with the score at 13. But Rohit, in sublime touch, took control of the chase, anchoring a 64-run partnership with Will Jacks (22). The duo steadied the innings and laid the foundation for a smooth chase.
After Jacks fell to Zeeshan Ansari in the 10th over, Suryakumar Yadav joined Rohit and continued the aggressive momentum. Their 53-run stand thrilled the crowd with a flurry of boundaries and sixes. Rohit eventually fell for a well-composed 70—his second consecutive half-century, a feat he last managed in 2016—featuring eight fours and three sixes.
Suryakumar remained unbeaten on a blistering 40 off just 19 balls, sealing the victory with a boundary off Ansari. Tilak Varma (2*) was at the other end as MI cruised to 146/3 in 15.4 overs.
Among SRH bowlers, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, and Eshan Malinga took a wicket apiece, but their efforts were eclipsed by Mumbai’s clinical batting display.
SRH’s Resilient Recovery Falls Short
Earlier, SRH were restricted to 143/8 in their 20 overs after suffering a dramatic top-order collapse. They were reeling at 35/5 before a gutsy 99-run stand between Heinrich Klaasen (71 off 44) and Abhinav Manohar (43 off 27) resurrected the innings.
Put in to bat, SRH lost opener Travis Head for a duck in the second over, caught brilliantly by Naman Dhir off Trent Boult. The collapse continued with wickets tumbling rapidly—Abhishek Sharma (8), Nitish Reddy (2), and Ishan Kishan (1) all falling cheaply, thanks to sharp bowling from Boult and Deepak Chahar.
At 35/5 in the ninth over, Klaasen and Manohar launched a counterattack. Klaasen brought up his first fifty of the season in 34 balls, striking nine fours and four sixes overall. The pair added crucial runs in the death overs, with SRH collecting 53 runs in the final five overs.
Boult returned to clean up the tail, finishing with impressive figures of 4/26, including the wicket of SRH skipper Pat Cummins on the final delivery. Deepak Chahar supported well with 2/12 from his four overs, while Pandya and Bumrah took a wicket each. Bumrah also celebrated his 300th T20 wicket during the match.
Despite the late fightback, SRH’s total proved inadequate against a rejuvenated MI side, who now look firmly back in contention this season.
(With ANI inputs)
