Defending champion Mumbai Indians tamed the famed Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack to notch up an easy seven-wicket win in the IPL-7 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday.
Chasing 158 for victory, Mumbai Indians lost opener C.M. Gautam in the second over of the innings to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But, MI’s strategy of handling the pace of Dale Steyn and the swing of Bhuvneshwar with caution paid dividends and the intent to preserve the wickets was clear.
Taking time to settle down before opening up, Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu came up with a match-winning 130-run stand off 87 balls for the second wicket. Simmons hit Irfan Pathan for 6, 4 and 6 in the fifth over to set the tempo for the rest of the innings.
Essaying the pull shot frequently and with great power and precision, the MI opener never really let the bowlers settle down. He even charged down to cart leggies Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma for a six apiece.
Not far behind was the gritty Rayudu, who treated his Baroda teammate Irfan Pathan with disdain, hitting him for a boundary and a six in one over. The bowlers never really recovered from the onslaught of Simmons and Rayudu, who struck boundaries regularly, as SRH suffered a defeat.
Earlier, opting to bat, Sunrisers scored 157 for three, thanks to the flamboyance of the Aussie duo of opener Aaron Finch and southpaw David Warner.
SRH captain Shikhar Dhawan played all over only to be bowled off Lasith Malinga and Lokesh Rahul was stranded by a smart fielding effort from MI captain Rohit Sharma when he attempted a sharp single, to leave the team at 70 for two in 9.5 overs.
Then, Finch and Warner were involved in a third-wicket stand of 63 off 54 balls.
Finch picked left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for special treatment, hitting two huge inside-out sixes.
The SRH total was falling well short of expectations with the score reading just 124 for two after 18 overs with Jasprit Bumrah and Harbhajan Singh bowling well in the middle overs.
Then, Warner raised the bar carting Malinga for two huge sixes in the 19th over even as the Sri Lankan dismissed the well-set Finch in between.
In the final over, Warner hit a six over long-on and two fours off Kieron Pollard which saw the total swell much to the delight of the SRH dugout.
Scoreboard
Sunrisers Hyderabad: A Finch c Pollard b Malinga 68 (62b, 7x4, 2x6), S. Dhawan b Malinga 11 (11b, 2x4), K.L. Rahul run out 10 (13b, 1x4), D. Warner (not out) 55 (31b, 6x4, 2x6), Naman Ojha (not out) 7 (3b, 1x6); Extras (lb-1, w-5): 6; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 157.
Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Dhawan), 2-70 (Rahul), 3-133 (Finch).
Mumbai Indians bowling: Anderson 2-0-17-0, Bumrah 4-0-24-0, Harbhajan 4-0-27-0, Malinga 4-0-35-2, P. Ojha 4-0-32-0, Pollard 2-0-21-0.
Mumbai Indians: L. Simmons b Bhuvneshwar 68 (50b, 5x4, 4x6), C.M. Gautam c Dhawan b Bhuvneshwar 1 (3b), A. Rayudu c & b Henriques 68 (46b, 7x4, 2x6), Rohit (not out) 14 (6b, 3x4), K. Pollard (not out) 6 (7b); Extras (w-3): 3; Total (for three wkts. in 18.4 overs): 160.
Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Gautam), 2-132 (Simmons), 3-141 (Rayudu).
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling: Steyn 4-0-29-0, Bhuvneshwar 4-0-21-2, Irfan 2-0-29-0, Mishra 3-0-33-0, Karn 2.4-0-25-0, Henriques 3-0-23-1.
Man-of-the-match: Rayudu.
Mumbai Indians won by seven wickets with eight balls to spare
