DRS, March 28: It’s clear now, SRH are no pushovers & all’s not well with MI

Phew. Where to start today. Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to score 277 in the game versus Mumbai Indians — the highest-ever in IPL history. Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen smash fifties of a lifetime, as Sunrisers Hyderabad show, they are not the tournament duds. For a team that has only 13 matches in the last 42 matches played from 2021-2023, that could just be a watershed moment.

Let’s be fair, Mumbai Indians also did well to score …, but that was never going to be enough as they lost by a massive .. runs anyway. Tilak Varma went on to score 64 from 34, but the SRH effort is what deserves to be talked about. If at all, one can perhaps raise the question on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, as to why he didn’t bring Jasprit Bumrah to bowl, when all the others were being taken to the cleaners.

Travis Head Starts

Playing in his first IPL match after a gap of seven years, Head, looked liked, he belonged in the tournament. He was the one who started the carnage in the third over, where he struck MI debutant Kwena Maphaka for 22 runs. The Aussie star eventually went on to score 62 from just 24 deliveries, smashing nine fours and three sixes. The strike-rate of 258 is worth mentioning. He at one point became the fastest fifty-scorer for SRH briefly, reaching the milestone in 18 balls.

Abhishek Sharma & Heinrich Klaasen Continue..

Forget Head for a moment. Just a few minutes later, youngster Abhishek bettered the former’s record for fastest fifty by two balls. He ended up scoring 63 from 23 deliveries, that makes it a strike-rate of 273. Klaasen, on the other hand, just continued from the last match and scored 80 in 34 balls. He of course is the orange cap holder with 143 runs, as he had scored 63 from 29 balls in the first match against KKR as well.

Markram’s 150 Strike-rate Too Slow

Guess what. Aiden Markram’s 42 from 28 was just too slow. Looking at the match, where a strike-rate of 200 was the norm, he ended up scoring a rate of 150 only. Although he went not out in the innings, but his innings didn’t really create the impact, as it should have. He only hit two fours and one six only. And that’s not it. Out of the 12 players who batted in the SRH vs MI match, seven had a strike-rate of over 200.

Highest Second Innings Total is No Consolation for MI

Mumbai’s 246/5 was way off the mark in the context of the match. But when, one sees through the history of IPL, this happens to be the highest score while chasing, notwithstanding the result of the match. The second best score now is 226/6 in the match between RR vs PBKS, set in 2020.

Most Runs in a Match

Consider all the T20 matches played, including the internationals — the SRH vs MI match witnessed the most runs scored in an entire match — 523. The next best score came in the T20I South Africa and the West Indies in 2023 (Centurion), where 517 runs were scored.

Take a Bow, Jasprit Bumrah & Pat Cummins

There’s a reason why Bumrah & Cummins are rated so highly, in whatever format they play. On a day when every bowler literally leaked runs, the duo returned with economy rates of 9 and 8.80, respectively. To put things in context, had Bumrah given runs like his teammates, the SRH score would have crossed 300. And if Cummins would have given a few more, MI could have chased down the target.

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Head Dropped, Pandya has Hands on Head

Even before Head went on a rampage, MI had a chance to get him early. The batsman had hit straight one towards fielder Tim David, but the latter couldn’t latch of to the chance. This, when Head was batting on 5. Bowler Pandya couldn’t believe, what he say.

One Over for Umran Malik

Once their bowling spearhead, India pacer Umran just bowled one over in the entire match. Surprisingly, spinner Shahbaz Ahmed gave away 39 runs.

‘Dhaage Khol Diye’

MI bowlers had a poor day in the field, and of course gave away way too many runs in the innings. At one point, when Klaasen was in full flow, the ball lost it’s shape, and the seam was visibly off.

Hardik, It’s a No Ball!

During one over of Gerald Coetzee, MI skipper Hardik went for a review, that was called a waist-high no-ball. But then, he went to review it. The best part, the man looked convinced that it wasn’t a no ball.

Contrasting Emotions

For obvious reasons, SRH owner Kaviya Maran had a field day at the Uppal Stadium, with her team performing exceptionally well. This was in complete contrast with what MI owner Nita Ambani would have experienced.

Mumbai Has a Problem

Under new captain Hardik, Mumbai has already lost two in two. Although still 12 games are still left, but all’s not well with MI. A few key players are still out due to injuries, and there’s lot of negativity around Hardik and his role.