The crucial tie between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came down to Jasprit Bumrah and Rashid Khan – two of the best limited-overs bowlers – battling it out in a Super Over.
It was Bumrah who came out on top, while Rashid ran into an in-form Hardik Pandya as MI sealed their play-offs berth with a thrilling win at the Wankhede stadium on Thursday.
Both the teams were tied on 162 after the end of their respective 20 overs, with Manish Pandey stretching the game to the Super Over hitting Hardik for a last-ball six. Sunrisers, though, couldn’t quite do the job as they managed just eight runs in the Super Over, losing two wickets in four balls.
Pandey, who had remained unbeaten on 71 off 47 in the chase, was run out first ball when he tried to steal a second run. Mohammad Nabi, who had made a crucial 20-ball 31, hit Bumrah for a six but fell when he became too greedy and tried another big hit. The Orange army couldn’t utilise two crucial balls, which would cost them big.
SRH skipper Kane Williamson turned to Rashid for the Super Over despite having Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Hardik made light work of the target smashing a straight six first ball.
“We are rewarded for some real hard work we have put in throughout the tournament. We played consistent cricket and have the results for it. We were very clear in the mind that we wanted to bat first and put runs on the board. Runs on the board is always nice,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.
“Jasprit Bumrah has been brilliant for us. He keeps improving and he is hungry for more. He is a lead bowler for us and he held the nerve during those two overs and the Super Over as well,” the MI skipper added.
Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya – the real game changers
“Manish played really well, hit some nice cricketing shots and put pressure on us. But I thought the game changing moment was eight overs of spin by Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya. It was not easy then but they did well to restrict the batsmen.”
Rohit, who hasn’t been in the best form this tournament, however acknowledged that the top order batsmen needed to pull their weight too.
“Quinny (Quinton de Kock) has been really good for us but we need help from the other batters. Confidence is there but we need to understand what the par scores are at different venues,” he further added.
