Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) A disciplined effort by their bowling unit, led by Jasprit Bumrah and skipper Hardik Pandya, helped Mumbai Indians defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in a low-scoring encounter in Match 33 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium. Will Jacks was the star of the match for Mumbai as he claimed two wickets and scored a vital 36 to guide the hosts to back-to-back wins in IPL 2025.
This was the same wicket on which the Mumbai Indians had bowled out defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders for 116 a few days ago. On Thursday, they reaped the juice in the pitch after electing to bowl first and restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 162/5 in 20 overs. The hosts then rode on vital contributions by Ryan Rickelton (31), Will Jacks (36), Rohit Sharma (26) and Suryakumar Yadav (26) and Tilak Varma (21 not out) to reach 166/6 in 18.1 overs and win by four wickets with 11 balls remaining.
They could have had a better win margin if skipper Hardik Pandya had not lost his wicket going for a glory shot with two runs needed.
It was the Mumbai Indians’ third win in IPL 2025 and took them to six points and seventh spot in the standings as they escaped from the logjam at four points towards the bottom of the points table. Sunrisers Hyderabad remain on four points.
Chasing 163 on a wicket that was still offering some assistance to the bowlers, Rohit Sharma, who came in as Impact Substitute, blasted three sixes — two off Mohammed Shami in the second over and one off Pat Cummins. However, just when it looked like the Wankhede would see vintage Rohit in action, he was out, hitting a low full-toss to Travis Head off Cummins.
Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks lived a charmed life. Jacks was put down by Travis Head while Rickelton got a reprieve after Cummins had pouched an easy catch off Zeeshan Ansari, but it was ruled a no-ball as keeper Heinrich Klaasen’s gloves were in front of the stumps before the delivery was bowled.
Rickelton went on to score 31 off 23 balls before Head made up for his earlier lapse by taking a skier off Harshal Patel, who was hit for back-to-back fours in the eighth over. Earlier, the South African opener had blasted Eshan Malinga for a hat-trick of boundaries.
Mumbai lost their second wicket at 69, but Will Jacks and Suryakumar Yadav then added 52 runs for the third wicket to take the hosts past the 100-run mark. Yadav, who hammered Zeeshan Ansari for two sixes on the leg-side, also scored two boundaries before he was out for 26 off 15 balls, mishitting a loft through the line off Cummins.
Will Jacks, finally, fell for 36, caught by Zeeshan Ansari off Cummins, slapping straight to mid-off as the ball stopped on him. From 121/3, Mumbai fell to 128/4. Jacks struck three boundaries and two big sixes during his 26-ball stay at the crease, leaving Mumbai needing 35 more runs to win the match.
Despite the double-blow, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya guided MI past the 150-run mark before the Mumbai Indians skipper was out, with two needed for victory, going for glory with a six. Naman Dhir got out for a three-ball duck as Mumbai slumped to 162/6 from 162/4. Tilak Varma sealed victory with a four to remain unbeaten on 21.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians used the conditions superbly and kept the SRH batters under a tight leash from the start and did not allow them to score freely. Will Jacks claimed 2-14 in his three overs while Jasprit Bumrah (1-21), Trent Boult (1-29) and Hardik Pandya (1-42) were the other successful bowlers.
SRH, who had successfully chased 246 in their previous match against Punjab Kings at home, made an eventful start with both openers having a close shave in the first over bowled by Deepak Chahar. Abhishek Sharma’s thick edge went above the first slip, bursting through Will Jacks’ hands, while Travis Head’s uppish flick landed just short of a diving Karn Sharma at midwicket.
Both openers continued to play their shots and create chances. Abhishek struck Chahar for a hat-trick of fours in the fifth over, driving, playing inside-out and slapping over cover to the boundary as SRH ended the power-play at a modest 46/0.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya, who appeared limping and had the physio tape up his ankle, made the breakthrough off the first ball he bowled after treatment, getting Abhishek caught by substitute Raj Bawa at the boundary for 40 off 28 balls, laced with seven fours as SRH fell to 59/1.
Will Jacks had Ishan Kishan stumped by Ryan Rickelton for two, and also had Travis Head, who was earlier out on a no-ball, out for 28 runs off 29 balls, holing out to Mitchell Santner at long-off.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen took the total past 100 runs in the 15th over. Their attempts to explode into action saw Reddy get out for 19 off Trent Boult. Klassen blasted Chahar for a six over cover-point in the 18th over and followed that up with a couple of boundaries and another six, accumulating 21 runs from the over.
Jasprit Bumrah uprooted Klaasen’s off-stump with a fine yorker, packing off the South African dasher for 37 runs off 28 balls. Aniket Verma blasted Hardik Pandya for a couple of sixes, and Pat Cummins finished their innings with a six off the final delivery as SRH ended with a below-par 162/5.
But in the end, that proved insufficient as the Mumbai Indians won the match despite a few hiccups.
Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 162/5 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 40, Heinrich Klaasen 37; Will Jacks 2-14, Jasprit Bumrah 1-21) lost to Mumbai Indians 166/6 in 18.1 overs (Will Jacks 36, Ryan Rickelton 31; Pat Cummins 3-26) by four wickets.
–IANS
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