The Mumbai Indians (MI) roared to victory at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, securing a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 55 of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. This win marks MI’s fourth triumph of the season, driven by a scintillating century from Suryakumar Yadav and crucial support from Tilak Varma during the run-chase.
In keeping with the prevailing trends of the TATA IPL 2024, MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first, pitting his bowlers against a formidable SRH batting lineup. MI made an intriguing addition to their squad by introducing Anshul Kamboj, a right-arm medium pacer, while SRH bolstered their batting strength by bringing back the experienced Mayank Agarwal.
The powerplay saw intense action as SRH’s openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, aggressively sought boundaries. The fifth over brought high drama when Kamboj was called into action. Head, determined to capitalize, smashed a six off Kamboj’s second delivery. However, Kamboj seemingly had his man on the next delivery, only to see his effort undone by a no-ball call. Head took full advantage of the free-hit by hitting a four, followed by another boundary. Just before the powerplay concluded, MI made a vital breakthrough when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Abhishek Sharma, who had managed only 11 runs off 16 balls.
Mayank Agarwal’s stint was cut short in the eighth over, falling victim to the debutant Kamboj. A recurring issue for SRH in this innings was their inability to build substantial partnerships. Beyond the opening stand of 56 runs, no other partnership crossed the 50-run mark. Numerous SRH batters got off to promising starts but failed to convert them into significant contributions. When Travis Head was dismissed for a solid 48 in the 12th over, SRH’s innings looked vulnerable. At 136 for eight in the 17th over, SRH had to bring in Sanvir Singh as the impact player to stabilize their innings.
In the latter part of the innings, it was Pat Cummins’ aggressive batting that ensured SRH posted a slightly competitive total. Cummins hammered 35 runs off just 17 balls, including two sixes and two fours, pushing SRH’s total to 173.
. His 37-run partnership for the last wicket was crucial, giving the SRH bowlers a score to defend. However, it reminded many of the time KKR defended a similar score against MI at the same venue. Hardik Pandya and Piyush Chawla were the standout bowlers for MI, each claiming three wickets—Pandya with figures of 3 for 31 and Chawla with 3 for 33.
MI’s response began energetically, with openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma racing to 26 runs inside the first two overs. However, SRH soon clawed back into the contest, dismissing Ishan by inducing an edge to slip off Marco Jansen’s bowling. In the fourth over, Rohit fell to a top-edge that was caught by the wicketkeeper. Next, Naman Dhir edged one to first slip off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fifth over. With MI struggling at 31 for three in the fifth over, SRH sensed a real opportunity.
It was then that Suryakumar Yadav stepped up, demonstrating that the best defense is a strong offense. He initiated his counterattack with a drive for four off Bhuvneshwar early in his innings. Tilak Varma joined the fray, vigorously attacking Pat Cummins in the sixth over. By the end of the powerplay, MI had recovered to 52 for three.
The seventh over saw Suryakumar’s aggressive approach pay off as he took 22 runs off Marco Jansen, courtesy of two sixes and two fours. Suryakumar remained unperturbed by the field spreading out, continuing to dominate SRH’s bowlers and offering no chance for a comeback. Tilak played the anchor role efficiently, allowing Suryakumar to unleash his best shots and enthrall the MI fans.
Suryakumar reached his fifty in just 30 balls and then accelerated exponentially, racing to his next fifty in only 21 balls. The deciding moment came in the 18th over when Suryakumar hit T Natarajan for a six, not only bringing up his century but also sealing the victory for MI.
MI cruised to victory with 16 balls to spare, with Suryakumar Yadav’s exceptional century playing a pivotal role in their commanding win.