Agencies
HYDERABAD, MAY 8
It was meant to be a 'home' game for Mumbai Indians, but it was Sunrisers Hyderabad, the pseudo home team whose base is geographically closest to Visakhapatnam, that rode Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 82 and Ashish Nehra's new ball burst that fetched him three wickets to defend 177 with aplomb. A sixth win in ten matches assured them a second spot for the moment, irrespective of the result between the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions at Eden Gardens.
Four out of five half-centuries made by Rohit Sharma have resulted in successful chases for Mumbai this season. On Sunday, his vigil lasted all of three balls to expose middle order that has thrived on Rohit's holding role. But they couldn't quite hit the straps against a rampaging Nehra whose late swing broke Mumbai's backbone with the strike of Rohit, Ambati Rayudu and Jos Buttler. At 30 for 4 in four overs, it was a case of trying to limit damage for Mumbai, with Sunrisers' bowling depth shining through once again in their 85-run win at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
Rohit was beaten on the drive as the ball swung back in to miss the inside edge and hit off stump. Rayudu, the second highest run-scorer for Mumbai this season, fended a skiddy bouncer to point, while Butter was pouched by Naman Ojha, who struck his right hand to pull off a one-handed stunner. The meltdown seemed complete when Kieron Pollard miscued a slower ball to long-on in the ninth over to leave Mumbai in tatters at 49 for 6.The early running was once again done by David Warner, who simply picked away freebies offered by Mumbai's pacers as Sunrisers raced to 51 without loss in six overs after being sent in. The effervescence of his off side strokeplay forced Rohit to pack his off side field with five fielders at one stage. But it didn't matter as he still somehow pierced the gap as the bowlers kept giving him width.
Warner's enterprise allowed Shikhar Dhawan to comfortably slip into the role of a second fiddle, but the punch in his strokes on a fast outfield allowed him to pick boundaries from time to time. Both batsmen used the depth of the crease to ride the bounce on a fresh surface to pierce the fields.
Dhawan shifted gears after the Powerplay by bringing out the deft touches and flicks to give Warner as much strike, even as Mumbai's spinners, in an effort to stem the damage, tried to fire the ball in, instead of allowing the batsmen to get underneath the flight. Warner welcomed Harbhajan with a biff for six over long-on before receiving a succession of darts outside off, which he surprisingly failed to squeeze through.
Harbhajan's plan may have only just worked as Warner holed out to Pollard at long-off in the 10th over to give Mumbai some relief. In the next over, Harbhajan set up Kane Williamson by deceiving him in flight to have Pollard take a smart catch at midwicket. The double strike applied the brakes on Sunrisers, who managed just 30 off the five overs following Warner's dismissal.
Yuvraj Singh announced himself in the 15th over to signal the momentum switch again as he made room and scorched a drive imperiously into the extra cover boundary. He followed that up with a clean connection that sent a slower delivery soaring over wide long-on for six. The beauty of Yuvraj's strokeplay lay in him maximizing timing to play shots with minimal feet movement.
At the other end, Dhawan displayed strong wrists to pepper the legside field. He went into overdrive once past his half-century, but hitting Jasprit Bumrah for three successive fours in the 16th over to leave Rohit searching for fielders. The manner in which he overcame pockets of frustration by rotating strike before bringing out the big hits when his team needed it signaled his welcome return to form. Yuvraj and Dhawan's 85-run stand off 49 balls came to an end when Yuvraj clattered his stumps to be out hit-wicket, but the end-overs carnage gave them the momentum which Nehra rode to derail the chase.
Mustafizur Rahman, introduced in the ninth over, struck twice in two overs to seal the deal firmly in Mumbai's favour. Harbhajan hung around to merely delay the inevitable before Barinder Sran closed the game out by dismissing Bumrah in the 17th over. By winning in the manner they did, Sunrisers also boosted their net run-rate, a factor that could come in handy if teams are tied on points.
