Win the toss, chase and win the game – that mantra worked for the Mumbai Indians perfectly again, as the champions Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered their first defeat of IPL 2017.
With SRH asked to bat first on a ground where chasing is pretty much the only way to win, the defending champions could only put up 158 in their 20 overs.
Mumbai Indians, who pulled off a stunning chase in their last match at the Wankhede, did it again, but this time without too much fuss, as the former champions picked up their second straight win of the Indian Premier League this season.
While Jos Buttler (14, 11b, 3x4) – bowled by Ashish Nehra in the fourth over – and Rohit Sharma (4, 4b) – lbw to Rashid Khan, who was outstanding yet again – fell early in the chase, Parthiv Patel ensured the MI score would be well above the required run rate, with the home team getting to 61/2 at the end of the Powerplay overs.
With that platform set and a relatively small total to chase down, the Sunrisers, even with Rashid and Mustafizur Rahman, playing his first match of IPL 2017 and looking like he needs a few more games under his belt, in the bowling lineup, couldn't do enough to make a game of it, with the dew making it even more difficult for the bowlers.
Once Parthiv (39, 24b, 7x4) fell, Rana (45, 36b, 3x4, 2x6), the hero of Mumbai's win over KKR on Sunday, kept the chase rolling along smoothly, and with plenty of help from Krunal Pandya (37, 20b, 3x4, 3x6), the left-hander made sure MI got home comfortably, even if he fell right at the end with just four runs required.
The SRH batting innings just did not go according to plan. There was no impetus in the first six overs, and once David Warner got out, the innings unravelled pretty quickly.
Plenty of credit must also go to the Mumbai Indians bowlers, with Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah all putting up really good performances.
Harbhajan was the one to pick up the crucial wicket of Warner, with the Australian falling while attempting a switch hit, a ball after smashing the off-spinner for a six with a similar stroke.
Warner (49, 34b, 7x4, 2x6) was just starting to bring some momentum into the Sunrisers batting innings, after the first six overs proved to be pretty fruitless for the away team, with the Mumbai Indians bowling really well when the field restrictions were on.
Shikhar Dhawan might have made 48 (43b, 5x4, 1x6), but this was another knock where the left-hander struggled to find the middle of the bat often enough.
Credit must be given to the opener for hanging in there, even when the timing isn't there, but the first three matches will give the selectors no reason to recall Dhawan back into the India fold for the ICC Champions Trophy.
With Warner gone, the SRH innings was on Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh (5, 7b, 1x4), and while the former fell at an inopportune moment, the latter was unlucky to drag one on off Hardik.
The Sunrisers middle order has never been convincing, and with Moises Henriques out sick, it was only Ben Cutting (20, 10b, 4x4) who really did anything towards the end, with SRH falling away miserably in the final three overs, managing just 18 runs.
MI vs SRH scorecard:
Toss: Mumbai, who chose to bowl.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 158/8 in 20 overs.
Mumbai Indians: 159/6 in 18.4 overs.
Result: Mumbai Indians won by four wickets with eight balls remaining.
Bowling: Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh 4-0-23-2; Lasith Malinga 4-0-30-1; Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-24-3; Mitchell McClenaghan 4-0-42-1; Hardik Pandya 3-0-22-1; Krunal Pandya 1-0-12-0.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-21-3; Ashish Nehra 4-0-46-1; Rashid Khan 4-0-19-1; Mustafizur Rahman 2.4-0-34-0; Deepak Hooda 2-0-18-1; Ben Cutting 2-0-18-0.
Fall of wickets: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 81/1, David Warner (10.2 overs); 105/2, Deepak Hooda (13.1 overs); 114/3, Shikhar Dhawan (14.5 overs); 123/4, Yuvraj Singh (15.3 overs); 146/5, Ben Cutting (17.4 overs); 147/6, Vijay Shankar (18.1 overs); 153/7, Naman Ojha (19.1 overs); 155/8, Rashid Khan (19.4 overs).
Mumbai Indians: 28/1, Jos Buttler (3.1 overs); 41/2, Rohit Sharma (4.5 overs); 79/3, Parthiv Patel (9.4 overs); 111/4, Kieron Pollard (13.4 overs); 149/5, Krunal Pandya (17.1 overs); 155/6, Nitish Rana (18 overs).
