SRH VS MI T20S

Right then, that's all we have from this entertaining game that ebbed and flowed, but it was Mumbai who emerged victorious and are still mathematically alive in the tournament. The 2024 Indian T20 League is off to an exciting start this week, and if the first game is any indication, we are in for a thrilling ride. Next up on Tuesday, the 7th of May, Delhi will square off against Rajasthan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Rishabh Pant's squad will be determined to return to winning ways, while Sanju Samson and his team will be eager to reclaim the top spot from Kolkata. The game will commence at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as always, our build-up will begin much sooner. See you then. Cheers!

Suryakumar Yadav is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliant ton under pressure. He reflects on his performance, highlighting the challenge of fielding and batting for extended periods after a long gap since December 14th. Despite fatigue, he recognized the importance of anchoring the innings after Mumbai lost early wickets. Yadav credits his traditional shot-making, honed through Mumbai's cricketing culture, for his success in navigating the seam movement. He emphasizes maintaining intent throughout his innings, expressing confidence that as the game progressed, he would have accelerated similarly to his performance in this match.

The captain of Mumbai, Hardik Pandya says that they want to focus on playing good cricket. Feels that they gave 10-15 runs more but the batting was excellent. Shares that he likes bowling in good areas and see how the wicket behaves. Tells that Piyush Chawla took wickets of batters who can take the game away. Reckons that in T20s, consistency is more important than change-ups. Adds that Chawla was consistent and he was rewarded for it. Mentions that Suryakumar Yadav was unbelievable and feels that more than him getting runs, him putting so much pressure on bowlers results in loose balls. Ends by saying that they are lucky to have Suryakumar in the side.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Tilak Varma of Mumbai reflects on their approach, emphasizing the return to basics and playing with a straight bat, especially with Suryakumar Yadav's presence, which kept them competitive. Varma admits being surprised by Yadav's aggressive approach against Jansen, deviating from their planned strategy. He stresses the importance of readiness for diverse pitch conditions. Varma highlights his focus on adapting to different game situations and exploring scoring opportunities. Expressing support for Yadav's century bid, Varma dismisses concerns about Yadav's injury, indicating confidence in his teammate's fitness.

Hyderabad's captain, Pat Cummins, reflects on the innings, noting they might be a couple of runs short. He acknowledges the challenging conditions in the initial overs, crediting Sunny's presence for their final score of 170. Despite contemplating the impact of a fast bowler, Cummins maintains uncertainty in T20 cricket outcomes. He highlights SKY's performance, emphasizing its pivotal role in altering the game's dynamics. Looking ahead, Cummins hopes for thrilling moments in future matches, embracing the unpredictable nature of the sport.

Earlier in the game, after inserting Hyderabad into bat, the Mumbai bowlers did not get the reward they deserved early on but did well not to allow the explosive Hyderabad opening pair to get away. It was an unusual struggle for Abhishek Sharma, but Travis Head got going as he always does. Head got a couple of reprieves off the bowling of the debutant, Anshul Kamboj, once when he was bowled off a no ball and later when he was dropped. However, he could not make the most of those lives, and Nitish Kumar Reddy perished soon after. Piyush Chawla and Hardik Pandya helped Mumbai dominate the middle phase, picking up three wickets each. Despite reducing Hyderabad to 136-8, Mumbai let them off the hook as Pat Cummins breathed life into his side's innings and took them to 173 with an unbeaten 35-run knock.

Having reduced Mumbai to 31-3, Hyderabad had a real shot at taking home those two points and moving out of the mid-table muddle. However, they came up on the wrong side of a Suryakumar Yadav masterclass and just did not have enough runs on the board. Having scored 39 runs off the last three overs of their batting effort to finish with 173, Hyderabad had the momentum with them at the halfway mark. However, they could not translate that into their bowling effort in the first couple of overs as Bhuvshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen failed to control the swing. Jansen, Bhuvneshwar and Pat Cummins soon got into the groove and made the new ball talk to nip out Mumbai's top three inside the Powerplay. They had their tails up at that stage but just could not build on that start with the ball. Moreover, they failed to contain boundaries and slowly Suryakumar Yadav began to take the game away from them. Pat Cummins was left scrambling for a breakthrough but it never came as Suryakumar Yadav remained unbeaten on 102 and handed Hyderabad their 5th defeat of the season.

TAKE A BOW, SURYAKUMAR YADAV! Innings of the highest order by one of, if not the best in T20 cricket, and the Mumbai fans, who have endured a tough season, were treated to something really special. With this emphatic win, Mumbai lift themselves off the bottom of the standings. In their pursuit of 173 runs, Mumbai were off to a brisk start as they were helped by the extras bowled by the Hyderabad new ball bowlers. The start soon became a shaky one as their top three were blown away in real quick time. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma then got together to steady the ship for the hosts. Suryakumar played the aggressor role as he found boundaries with regularity, while Tilak was happy playing the second fiddle. Suryakumar notched up a 30-ball fifty and kept going despite the groin issue. He accelerated from fifty to hundred in just 21 balls and took Mumbai over the line through his second Indian T20 League ton.

SIX! Suryakumar Yadav finishes off in style and gets his HUNDRED! Full toss outside the line of the off stump and Suryakumar Yadav launches the inside out over the head of long off and the ball goes into the stands. Mumbai win the match and it is a world-class innings from Suryakumar Yadav.

Fuller on the stumps. Tilak Varma flicks the ball to deep mid-wicket for a single to get Suryakumar Yadav back on strike as he is batting on 96.

SIX! Moves onto 96 with that mammoth hit to Pat Cummins as he drops the ball short again with mid-wicket back at the fence and Suryakumar Yadav this time slogs him all the way over the fence and into the crowd for a SIX.

FOUR! Two in two for Suryakumar Yadav as he fetches the ball from outside the off stump line and sends it away again over mid-wicket for his second boundary of the over.

FOUR! Pat Cummins runs his fingers over the ball and drops it short outside the off stump and Suryakumar Yadav walks around and slogs the ball to the left of deep square leg and gets FOUR.

Holds the length back at the batter. Tilak Varma makes room and slashes the ball to deep third man for a single.

Bowls another slower bumper at the batter and Suryakumar Yadav gets an inside edge towards fine leg as he looks to pull the ball. Runs a single.

WIDE! Wayward outside the line of the off stump line. Suryakumar Yadav looks to cut it but misses. The Umpire signals WIDE!