MI vs SRH: MI storm into play-offs, thrash SRH by 9 wickets

Anderson was the chief architect of an improbable win last year as his 44-ball 95 not out had taken Mumbai Indians into the play-offs. They had chased down 190 inside 15 overs against the Rajasthan Royals to get there. The situation was pretty similar this time around. Win or bust – it was the same for both teams. Mumbai Indians revelled under pressure. Sunrisers Hyderabad choked.

Scorecard: MI v SRH

Unlike last year, Mumbai didn’t leave it late on Sunday night. Hyderabad had the advantage of winning the toss on a good pitch, but the men in blue came hard at them and all but sealed the contest inside the powerplay overs.

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Lasith Malinga usually reserves his deadly yorkers for the latter half of the innings. Here, he unleashed one in the first over. Shikhar Dhawan was beaten for pace as the off stump went for a walk.

Over, said the umpire. Mitchell McClenaghan had the ball now, and he netted the big fish with his first ball. A short, rising delivery that hurried David Warner for the pull. Kieron Pollard comfortably took the top edge. Mumbai players started the war dance. Heads sunk in the Hyderabad dug-out. They were tottering at 7/2, and their captain was gone.

Warner had almost single-handedly brought his team on the cusp of play-offs, scoring 556 runs in 13 matches before this game. His early departure meant Hyderabad lost their lifeblood. They failed to recover.

McClenaghan then dismissed Eoin Morgan with another short ball. 23/3 after 5.3 overs and the hosts were on the mat.

“It was a disappointing way to finish the tournament. Losing me and Shikhar early, we did not give enough to the bowlers,” Warner would say after the match.

Missed opportunity

KL Rahul must rue the missed opportunity. The big players were out, but the young India batsman had a chance to make a mark. He started off brightly. An inside-out four over cover off Jagadeesha Suchith was classy. Another inside-out lofted drive over mid-off against medium pacer Hardik Pandya was even better. In company of Moises Henriques, he was trying to steady the ship. Progress was understandably slow, only 50 runs were scored in nine overs when the first strategic time-out was called. Hyderabad imploded after the break.

Henriques jumped out of his crease in the first ball after resumption and was out stumped. Suchith had pushed it through the air and the shot was uncalled for. Naman Ojha gave Rohit Sharma a catching practice at short cover on the next ball. “Poor execution,” said VVS Laxman on TV.

Pressure situations separate the men from the boys. Rahul should have risen to the challenge. But he tried to slam a Harbhajan Singh off-spinner that offered him little room for the cut. The ball took the inside edge and went onto the stumps. At 91/9, Hyderabad

At 91/9, Hyderabad were facing the ignominy of getting bundled out below hundred. But Dale Steyn used the long handle to good effect to take the score to 113.

Cruise control

Mumbai just had to ensure they didn’t lose early wickets, and Simmons and Parthiv Patel were in cruise control right from the outset. Patel was a little adventurous when he chased a wide one from Steyn in the first over and dispatched it through the covers. There was an element of risk, but the left-hander settled down and started to play the ball on merit.

Lendl Simmons was in fine fettle at the other end, hitting Steyn for two delightful fours and turning Praveen Kumar to the square leg fence. Patel joined in the fun, cutting Bhuvneshwar Kumar past point and flicking him through mid-wicket. Fifty partnership was raised for the opening wicket in 7.1 overs. By then, Hyderabad had thrown in the towel.

Ball-by-ball commentary

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The build-up

SRH vs MI: A winner-take-all contest

IPL Live score, MI vs SRH: There’s a method in Hardik Pandya’s madness. He doesn’t try to be too innovative and plays high-percentage shots.

Sensing the opportunity for an early finish, the openers shifted gears. Twenty-two runs were scored from one Karn Sharma over as Mumbai raced to 102 for no loss in 12 overs. Patel reached his half-century off 36 balls and remained unbeaten on 51. Simmons missed it by two runs, but no one cared.

Still disillusioned how D/L method comes up with those numbers: Tom Moody

IPL Live score, MI vs SRH: Moody was lavish in his praise of all-rounder Henriques, who made 57 runs in 22 balls, for his brilliant performance. (Source: BCCI)

Mumbai had already started celebrating. They won by nine wickets with 37 balls to spare to finish second and reach the play-offs in style. They face Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. And thanks to a fantastic turnaround, they will have a second opportunity.

Hardik Pandya: Rags to rockstar journey

IPL live score, MI vs SRH: What differentiates Hardik from others is the way the ball flies off his bat, says Kiran More. (Source: PTI)

“Today was the best game we have played,” said Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting after the match.

“Today was perhaps the most complete performance, having lost the toss. We had the Sunrisers on the back foot. Rohit went for the kill with captaincy. We have won 8 out of out last 9 games… I guess we tend to play the Mumbai pitch well. We have to turn up on Tuesday and play our best cricket against Chennai.”