Sunrisers Hyderabad opened their account in VIVO IPL 2016 after they defeated the Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday. After opting to field first, the home side did very well to restrict MI to a below-par 142-6, and then chased down the runs in eighteen overs.
David Warner once again led from the front for SRH. The left-hander scored his second half-century of the season – his fourth in the last six innings for SRH – and guided his team past the finish line. If Warner applied well and remained unbeaten at the end, he was helped with useful contributions from Moises Henriques and Deepak Hooda.
The home side was off to a poor start. Shikhar Dhawan’s woeful form continued as he lost his middle peg in the first over. The home side couldn’t force the pace too much early on – with the ball jagging around a bit, finishing the Powerplay period at 33-1. A couple of overs after the field restrictions were relaxed, Henriques stepped on the accelerator when he hit Harbhajan Singh for a six and four in the eighth over.
Henriques was dismissed in the eleventh over, and Morgan in the fifteenth over – thanks to a sensational catch by Hardik Pandya. But Warner motored along, ensuring the required run rate was always in control; he hit seven boundaries and muscled four sixes – including the winning hit that sailed over square leg. He remained unbeaten on 90 – made from 59 balls, while Hooda chipped in with a quick fire 17 from 9 balls. SRH got past the finish line with 2.3 overs to spare.
For the visitors, Southee was superb; he got the ball to swing late, troubled most batsmen, and returned with figures of 3-24. McClenaghan came in for some stick – conceding 31 runs off 18 deliveries to Warner alone. Jasprit Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh and Hardik Pandya went wicketless.
Earlier in the evening, MI lose three of their top order batsmen – including that of captain Rohit Sharma who was run out – in the first eight overs. Shortly thereafter, Jos Buttler gloved one down the leg-side and MI were reduced to 60-4.
Ambati Rayudu justified calls to be promoted up the order by shepherding the Mumbai Indians innings and guiding them to a respectable 142. The Hyderabad lad, who has helped MI out of difficult situations on many an occasions in the past, played a mature innings, held his own despite his team losing wickets at the other end and kept the scoreboard ticking. In a surprise move, the defending champions promoted the older of the Pandya brothers – Krunal – to bat at number six, and the move paid rich dividends.
The left-hander, in the company of Rayudu, added 63 runs for the fifth wicket in double quick time to put the innings back on track. The left-handed Krunal, who dominated the partnership, caused a lot of damage in one particular over – the 14th of the innings – when he muscled the left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma for three consecutive hits over the fence.
That one over gave MI much needed impetus; they were 72 for 4 after 13 overs and had suddenly raced to 98 for 4. The pair added 13 in the following over from Mustafizur Rahman, in the process bringing up the 50 of the partnership. But some fine bowling from SRH in the final three overs, during which they dismissed Rayudu (54 from 49 balls) and Hardik Pandya, ensured the visitors only added 18 runs. MI eventually finished at 142-6.
For the hosts, the left-arm quick Sran was the most successful bowler, returning with career best figures of 3-28. The rest of the bowling attack had a good day too. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who got his yorkers right on most occasions, was miserly conceding only 17 runs in his four overs while also dismissing the MI opener Martin Guptill. Bipul Sharma, who found a place in the XI at the place of Karn Sharma, bowled three very good overs before being taken for 26 in his final over. Moises Henriques returned with figures of 0-23, while Mustafizur, who bowled several good yorkers in his four-over spell, returned with figures of 1-32.
Brief scores
Mumbai Indians – 142-6 in 20.0 Overs (Ambati Rayudu 54, Krunal Pandya 49*, Barinder Sran 3-28)
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 145-3 in 17.3 Overs (David Warner 90*, Tim Southee 3-24)
Man of the Match: David Warner, for his unbeaten 90 from 59 balls.
