Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance helped Mumbai Indians defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 13 runs in the ninth match of the IPL 2021 at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on April 17th. Rohit Sharma won the toss and looking at the trend of the Chepauk wicket, he rightly chose to field first.
Mumbai Indians realized the need to make the most of hardball and power-play restrictions since scoring runs becomes extremely difficult as the innings progresses at the Chepauk. MI got their innings off to a flying start with Rohit Sharma donning the role of the power-play aggressor. He swept and pulled Mujeeb Ur Rahman for audacious boundaries on a tough track. MI put on 53 runs in the first six overs without a loss of wickets.
Captain Sharma’s knock of 32 off 25 came to an end as he holed out to Vijay Shankar’s bowling, trying to hit one out of the ground in the 7th over. Suryakumar Yadav, in the form of his life, got off the blocks with a boundary and then hit arguably the shot of the tournament over covers. But fell to a soft dismissal on the very next delivery. As often is the case in this season, things got difficult afterwards.
Ishan Kishan’s struggles this year continued as he couldn’t get going in his innings. His torturous knock of 12 off 21 ended as he tried to smash one-off Mujeeb. MI were at the risk of not crossing the 135 mark, but that’s when Kieron Pollard stepped up. Pollard had struggled in the first two matches to provide with the finishing that MI have often enjoyed. Mumbai made the switch between Hardik and Pollard’s batting positions. The big West Indian took his time and powered the team to a very good total of 150 with his knock of 35 off 22, which saw two sixes on the last two deliveries.
The chase for SRH was going to be a difficult one on the Chepauk track, especially with their history of batting collapses. Jonny Bairstow took them off to a blistering start, smashing Boult and Milne disdainfully. Sunrisers scored 55 in the first five overs courtesy of the Bairstow onslaught. Warner put on a role of an anchor. But Bairstow’s outstanding knock of 43 off just 22 balls ended with a bizarre hit-wicket and MI had a sigh of relief.
Manish Pandey, who has faced huge criticism for his slow scoring rate, was holed out trying to hit Rahul Chahar over long-off. But SRH still had Warner at the crease who took on the leggie. The real turning point occurred in the 12th over when Hardik Pandya ran out Warner with a direct hit on 36 off 34. The game got wide open for MI as SRH needed 61 off 51 with only inexperienced Indian middle order. Rahul Chahar carried his form from the last game and choked SRH’s middle order with 3 for 19 in his four.
The equation was 47 off last five overs, but that’s when Vijay Shankar smacked two sixes against Krunal Pandya and brought it down to 31 off four overs. The next four overs were Death bowling masterclass from Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Bumrah conceded only nine runs in his next two overs and dismissed Shankar. From the other end, Boult bowled searing yorkers and wrapped things off with 3 for 28 in his 3.4 overs.
Brief Scores
Mumbai Indians: 150/5 (de Kock 40, Pollard 35, Shankar 2/19, Mujeeb 2/29)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 137/10 (Bairstow 43, Warner 36, R Chahar 3/19, Boult 3/28)
