April 25, 2015
Brief Scorecard: Mumbai Indians 157 for 8 (Simmons 51, Pollard 33, Bhuvneshwar 3-24, Praveen 2-35) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137 for 8 (Dhawan 42, Malinga 4-23, McLenaghan 3-20) by 20 runs
Lasith Malinga is mobbed by his team-mates, Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, April 25, 2015
April 25, 2015
Brief Scorecard: Mumbai Indians 157 for 8 (Simmons 51, Pollard 33, Bhuvneshwar 3-24, Praveen 2-35) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137 for 8 (Dhawan 42, Malinga 4-23, McLenaghan 3-20) by 20 runs
Lasith Malinga is mobbed by his team-mates, Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, April 25, 2015
MUMBAI: All the talk in the 30-minute period between the toss and the start of the match was about the prospect of Dale Steyn and Trent Boult bowling in tandem, after the latter was drafted into the Sunrisers Hyderabad side. Having both pacers in the XI strengthened Hyderabad's bowling and helped them restrict Mumbai Indians to 157 for 8, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday (April 25), but the side-effect of a weak batting line-up proved costly.
The target was not massive, but Hyderabad ended with 137 for 8, with Lasith Malinga (4 for 23) and Mitchell McClenaghan (3 for 20) doing the bulk of the damage.
In the two matches that Hyderabad have won this season, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan had put on stands of 82 and 130, showing how heavily their batting depended on the two. Their top-heavy batting line-up was exposed once again as the remaining batsmen choked against some disciplined bowling.
Hyderabad did get a decent start in their chase, courtesy a 29-ball 42 by Dhawan. Mumbai started with the off-spin of Harbhajan Singh to counter the left-handed openers, but Dhawan was in no mood to let the spinner settle. He smashed the first ball of the chase to the sweeper cover fence to set the tone, and took the spinner for three fours and a six in his next over as the visitors raced to 39 without loss in four overs.
The rapid start by Dhawan deflated Mumbai but they fought back by dismissing the openers in the space of seven balls. Warner first upper-cut Lasith Malinga straight to third man in the last ball of the fifth over and Dhawan followed his skipper in the next over, pulling McClenaghan to midwicket, where Malinga held on to a sharp catch.
The twin strikes were followed by a dip in scoring rate. J Suchith went through a tight spell and Naman Ojha succumbed to the pressure, lofting the left-arm spinner to long-off in the ninth over.
Mitchell McClenaghan picked 3 for 20 in his four overs, Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, April 25, 2015
The consequence of playing five bowlers was a weak middle order. KL Rahul and Ravi Bopara put on 36 runs for the fourth wicket but struggled to up the ante as the required rate kept increasing. Rahul scratched around for a 27-ball 25 before lofting McClenaghan to long-off, leaving Bopara and Hanuma Vihari – the last recognised pair – to get 54 from five overs. The pair managed 20 from the next two overs to give themselves a shot at victory, but McClenaghan killed the chase in the 18th over, conceding just three runs and bagging the wicket of Bopara.
Malinga then helped himself to three wickets in the next over to complete the formalities.
Earlier, Mumbai's innings was a case of taking one step forward and two steps back.
They opted to bat first on a placid track and Lendl Simmons signaled his intentions straightaway, starting the innings with two boundaries off Boult's first over. At the other end, Parthiv Patel looked promising and the pair took on the pacers with an aggressive approach. But just when it looked like Mumbai would run away with the initial advantage, a double-strike jolted their progress.
Parthiv was the first to go, falling for a run-a-ball 17 two balls before the end of the Power Play to Steyn. The left-hander attempted to repeat a shot that fetched him a boundary the previous ball but ended up flicking straight to deep square leg. Unmukt Chand started his innings with a gorgeous drive to the long-off boundary, but the promise was short lived as he pulled a slower ball from Praveen Kumar to midwicket in the next over.
The wickets, however, didn't seem to have much of an impact on Rohit Sharma and Simmons. The captain had spoken about playing 'fearless cricket' and the pair did just that, finding the boundary at least once every over. Mumbai raced to 92 for 2 in 12 overs and had the perfect platform for a late flourish, but Steyn's return ended such possibilities. Simmons reached his half-century by smashing two consecutive boundaries down the ground, but Steyn had the last laugh, getting through a wild slog to disturb the middle stump.
The 51-run stand off 33 balls had ended, but Rohit and Kieron Pollard came together with more than seven overs remaining. Mumbai, though, suffered another setback as the captain miscued Karn Sharma to long-off in the very next over. Once again a step forward was followed by two steps back.
Rohit's dismissal triggered a flurry. Hyderabad applied the brakes through some tight bowling by Boult and the Kumars – Bhuvneshwar and Praveen – as Mumbai struggled for momentum. Ambati Rayudu and Harbhajan were caught in the deep going for big shots, and although Pollard struck a couple of sixes towards the end, Mumbai couldn’t get the strong finish they wanted.
It turned out to be enough in the end though.
Courtesy: Wisden India
