In A must-win game, Sunrisers Hyderabad needed a big score on the board and they got it, posting 193-6 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
The 2016 champions, put into bat, were bolstered by the ever-consistent Rahul Tripathi’s third half-century, ably supported by opener Priyam Garg (42) and Nicolas Pooran (38). MI’s Ramandeep Singh was the star bowler with 3-20 in his three overs.
At the time of going to press, MI were 56 for none after seven overs.
Tripathi played some stupendous shots during his 44-ball 76, but the six sailing into the third tier over long-on off Daniel Sams was particularly breathtaking. A boundary in the same over at point showed his eloquent timing, confining the third man fielder to a mere spectator. Tripathi continued his beast-mode batting when he first smashed two fours off left-arm spinner Sanjay Yadav and then welcomed Jasprit Bumrah with a six and two consecutive boundaries to take 15 runs off his first over. An audacious pull for six over mid-wicket deserves special mention.
Garg could have been back in the dugout for just 10, but got a reprieve. His pull shot off Sams, saw both Bumrah (from square leg) and Jadhav (at deep square leg) go for the catch and while a collision was avoided, Jadhav went for the catch a bit late and dropped it. MI were guilty of some poor fielding early on too, allowing some easy boundaries in the process.
