IPL 10, Match 10, Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad: 5 Tracking Points

A rejuvenated, confident Mumbai Indians side bagged their second consecutive win and it was a great one considering that it came against the defending champs, the Sunrisers Hyderabad who were undefeated until now. This victory makes it two in two wins at Wankhede. And, both have come in thrilling matches. They have had a good home record in IPL and this performance was a testimony to that. Sunrisers have now lost all three matches they’ve played here.

Warner and Dhawan may have put up a fifty-run opening stand but the Mumbai Indians bowlers hardly gave them an opportunity to make an impact, or even settle. The pressure to push through the innings saw SRH’s collapse from 105/1 to 158/8.

159 as a target was never going to be enough at Wankhede especially with the dew, and the short boundaries. Rashid and Bhuvneshwar tried to bring their side back into the game, but the short-lived knocks Parthiv, Krunal and Rana were infact, impactful.

Here are 5 Tracking Points from today’s MI v SRH encounter:

#1. A dull return for Fizz

Mustafizur Rahman finally marked his return to the IPL after a lot of speculation about his participation and that delighted most cricket lovers, but his first outing of the season was a forgettable one. In the 2 overs he bowled, he conceded 34 runs and remained wicketless. Very surprisingly, he was also the most uneconomical among the lot with 12.75 runs per over. He had come in place of an already-sick Henriques. But for the next game against KKR, and further matches, Warner and the SRH management would be probably looking to give Fizz some more chances before bringing back anyone else instead of him.

#2. Warner, Dhawan, Rana depart inches before reaching half-century

Surprisingly, there were no fifties in the game, despite it not being a low-scoring one. For the Sunrisers, Warner and Dhawan were very close to registering them but first Warner was sent back to the pavilion at 49 in the 10^th over by Harbhajan Singh, followed by Dhawan who was sent back for 48 in the in the 14^th over who was sent back by McClenaghan. Nitish’s 45 in a chasing cause too fell short of becoming his second consecutive fifty. He looked in great touch, and made the chase for MI an easier task.

#3. Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar shine for their teams

While there was not much for the batsmen on the scorecard, despite it not being a bad pitch to bad on, the bowlers had a decent outing. All specialist bowlers, for both teams, got one wicket atleast, except for Mustafizur. The best among the lot were Bumrah and Bhuvi who got 3 wickets apiece. Bumrah’s figures read: 4-0-24-3, and Bhuvneshwar’s were: 4-0-21-3. Bumrah’s performance was extremely vital in containing the Sunrisers and bringing down the target to 159, hence he was awarded the MoM.

Also read | IPL 10, Match 10, MI v SRH – Statistical Highlights

#4. MI bowlers do well to cause SRH’s middle order to perish

Sunrisers may have won their games easily in the previous games without exposing their vulnerable, and shaky middle-order, but today the troubles had surfaced again. Though the chasing team has the advantage and the MI had a better shot at winning the game, the Sunrisers were about 30-40 runs short of posting a target they could defend. The problem lied with their middle order bastmen falling prey to the MI bowlers’ dominance at Wankhede in quick succession. No batsmen after the openers crossed single digits except Ben Cutting. His 20 runs too were not too threatening.

#5. Rohit’s slump in form continues

Rohit Sharma has not looked the same after recovering from the injury. His highest score in the last 5 innings he has played is 16, the rest of them have not even crossed 4 runs. Out of the 5 matches, 3 of them have come while playing for MI. Today too, he was dismissed for 4 runs, Though he has been subjected to wrong decisions too, he should look to step up his game in the IPL to be prepared for the Champions Trophy.