Visakhapatnam: Riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 82 followed by an impressive performance by the bowlers, Sunrisers Hyderabad outclassed defending champions Mumbai Indians by 85 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Sunday.
Batting first, Sunrisers posted an impressive 177/3 in 20 overs. Dhawan was well supported at the other end by David Warner (48 of 33 balls) and Yuvraj Singh (39 off 23 balls).
In reply, Mumbai Indians lost wickets at regular intervals from the start and were eventually bundled out for just 92 in 16.3 overs.
Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra (3-15), Muztafizur Rahman (3-16), and Barinder Sran (2-18) were the pick of the bowlers for Hyderabad, while Moises Henriques and Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed one wicket each.
Chasing a challenging target of 176, Mumbai got off to a terrible start losing both openers Rohit Sharma (5) and Parthiv Patel (0) in the second over to have Mumbai in trouble.
Incoming batsman Krunal Pandya (17) and Ambati Rayudu (6) tried to build a partnership, but some outstanding bowling by Hyderabad bowlers saw Mumbai wickets falling in clusters.
It was a one-way traffic in favour of Hyderabad as not a single Mumbai batsmen could settle down.
With the dismissal of Krunal, Rayudu and incoming batsman Jos Buttler (2), the defending champions were left tottering at 30/5 in the fifth over.
Kieron Pollard (11) struck two boundaries and looked to putting some runs on board but eventually failed.
Hardik Pandya (7), Tim Southee (8), Mitchell McClenaghan (8) all departed cheaply to hand the match to Sunrisers. Harbhajan Singh (21 not out) top-scored for Mumbai.
Earlier put in to bat on a hot and humid afternoon, Sunrisers got off to a flying start, courtesy in-form openers Warner 48 and Dhawan. The duo added 51 runs without loss at the end of the powerplay.
Warner kept up his sublime form in the cash rich T20 tournament going as he closed in on yet another half-century before he was dismissed in the 10th over to have Hyderabad at 85/1.
The left-hander struck seven boundaries and one six in his 33-ball innings.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan, h who had dismissed Warner earlier, helped Mumbai get back into the game by getting rid of incoming batsman Kane Williamson (2) in the 12th over to put a check on the Hyderabad run flow.
Despite two wickets falling in quick succession, Dhawan and Yuvraj used their experience not to let the team’s run-rate fall.
Both the left-handed batsmen sneaked in with ones, twos and in the death overs brought in handy boundaries and couple of sixes to have the team on course for a competitive total.
The duo managed to put on a much needed 85-run partnership for the third wicket to help the team.
Harbhajan Singh (2/29) was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai.
