The 56th match of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League was played between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah in which David Warner and Co won the match by 10 wickets.
Earlier in the match, SRH captain David Warner won the toss and decided to bowl first. Mumbai Indians, batting first, posted 149 runs on the scoreboard for 8 wickets in 20 overs.
Chasing the target, Hyderabad won by 10 wickets in the 17th over, thanks to unbeaten half-century innings by captain David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha. With this victory, Hyderabad became the fourth team to reach the playoffs, whereas Kolkata Knight Riders got eliminated from the playoffs.
Skipper David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha got off to a strong start to chase down the target. Both batsmen took the team’s score beyond 100 runs without losing any wickets. While Warner completed the half-century with the help of 6 fours and 1 six off 35 balls, Saha completed his fifty off 34 balls with the help of 7 fours.
Saha and Warner led the team to victory and SRH gracefully made it to the playoffs. Captain Warner contributed 85* runs from 58 balls in the massive win of 10 wickets while Saha played an unbeaten inning of 58 runs off 45 balls.
Winning Skipper, David Warner’s Reaction:
“Feeling good now. After that dreadful loss against Kings XI. Obviously, they rested a couple of players, but to hold them to 150 on this ground is outstanding. Nadeem, to go for 18 in his four against a side with so many left-hand batsmen, is exceptional. There is great resilience in the side. We always put our best foot forward. A lot of the credit goes down to the franchise owners. We looked back to 2016 when we had to win every game to win the title. When you have your backs against the wall, you have nothing to lose. You just saw how much that dropped chance hurt Rashid, the passion with which we play. I pride myself on giving the team a great start. That is my duty and responsibility. Fortunately, we haven’t had to chase a big total. RCB are a very good side. They have a lot of dangerous players. We beat them in the2016 final. Another do-or-die game. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum from this game.”
Losing Skipper, Rohit Sharma’s Reaction:
“Not the day we want to remember. Probably the worst performance of the season for us. We wanted to try a few things but unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. Losing wickets at the top doesn’t help. We knew the dew was playing a big part, and we wanted to take the toss out of consideration. I am happy to be back in the park. Looking forward to a few more games here and see how it goes. The hamstring is absolutely fine. Two ways to look at the dew. We play at Wankhede, which always has dew. So we don’t want to be demotivated when we lose the toss. We didn’t have enough runs on the board, which didn’t put any pressure on us. If you take wickets in the Powerplay, even if there is dew, it can put pressure on them. It is a funny format. You keep doing well. I know you want to remember those two wins against DC but you have to stay in the present and keep doing the small things and keep ticking the boxes. You want to leave tonight behind you as quickly as possible. We will get back to the drawing board tomorrow.”
Player of the Match, Shahbaz Nadeem’s Reaction:
“(On playing only his fifth match of the season) I have been playing like this for the last couple of years. It is important that whenever you get your chances you need to give your 100% and that’s what came out today. I have been working on the carrom ball for a couple of years and I thought it was the right time to bowl it because they have a lot of left-handers in their side. The round arm delivery doesn’t bounce much, but it also depends where it pitches – if it pitches on the leather it stays low and if it pitches on the seam it bounces extra. Today I was looking to get it to skid from the leather. Contributing to the team boosts you. Everyone has been contributing and my job is to fit in. This is a very small ground but the pitches are turning slower, so as a spinner if you pitch it in the right areas, it does work.”
