The Mumbai Indians (MI) celebrated a resounding victory at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, with a seven-wicket win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 55 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. This impressive triumph marks MI’s fourth win of the season, driven by a stunning century from Suryakumar Yadav and pivotal support from Tilak Varma during the run-chase.
Continuing the prevalent trend of the TATA IPL 2024, MI won the toss and opted to bowl, aiming to leverage their bowlers against the formidable SRH batting lineup. MI strategically introduced Anshul Kamboj, a right-arm medium pacer, into their ranks. SRH, in a bid to strengthen their batting, recalled the seasoned Mayank Agarwal.
The initial overs saw Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma performing aggressively, picking up boundaries steadily during the powerplay. The fifth over brought high drama when Kamboj stepped up to bowl. Head, determined to attack, smashed a six off the second delivery. However, Kamboj bowled him out immediately after, only for the delivery to be called a no-ball. Head took full advantage of the reprieve, hitting the subsequent free-hit for a four, followed by another boundary in quick succession. Yet, MI found their first breakthrough just before the powerplay concluded, with Jasprit Bumrah dismissing Abhishek for 11 off 16 deliveries.
In the eighth over, Kamboj struck again, bowling out Mayank. This set a pattern for SRH as they struggled to build substantial partnerships, losing wickets at regular intervals. Despite a solid 56-run opening partnership, no other pair managed to surpass the 50-run mark. Various batters got decent starts but failed to capitalize, with SRH’s innings constantly faltering. Head’s dismissal for 48 in the 12th over was a significant blow to SRH.
. The collapse saw them dwindling to 136 for eight by the 17th over, necessitating the introduction of Sanvir Singh as an impact player.
Pat Cummins’ spirited batting came to SRH’s rescue, as his swift 35 off just 17 balls, including two sixes and two fours, propelled SRH to a respectable total of 173. The crucial 37-run last-wicket partnership provided SRH’s bowlers with something to defend and inspiration, especially noting that KKR had successfully defended a similar score against MI at the same venue. MI’s bowling arsenal shone, particularly captain Hardik Pandya, who claimed three wickets for 31 runs, and Piyush Chawla, who also played a crucial role with three wickets for 33 runs.
MI’s chase began on a promising note as openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma scored quickly, accumulating 26 runs within the first two overs. However, SRH retaliated by claiming Ishan’s wicket, courtesy of an edge to slip off Marco Jansen’s delivery. Rohit followed soon, top-edging a ball to the wicketkeeper, while Naman Dhir was dismissed early, hooking a catch to the first slip off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fifth over, leaving MI precariously placed at 31 for three.
Suryakumar, however, took charge, demonstrating his flair with a classy drive for four off Bhuvneshwar early in his innings. Tilak Varma provided invaluable support as he began attacking Cummins in the sixth over. By the end of the powerplay, MI had steadied to 52 for three.
The field spread out but that only seemed to galvanize Suryakumar, who aggressively targeted Marco Jansen in the seventh over, amassing 22 runs with two sixes and two fours. From then on, Suryakumar took over, giving SRH bowlers no respite and driven by Tilak’s support at the other end. At the same venue last year, Suryakumar hit his maiden IPL century; this time, he dominated the run-chase, thrilling MI fans with his array of impressive shots.
Suryakumar reached his fifty off 30 balls and then showcased a spectacular display of T20 cricket, scoring the next fifty in just 21 balls. The victory was sealed when he smashed T Natarajan for a six in the 18th over, reaching his century and leading MI to victory with 16 balls to spare.
In summary, Mumbai Indians emerged victorious with Suryakumar Yadav stealing the show with a memorable century, solidifying their position in the TATA IPL 2024 with a convincing win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad.