Sunrisers Hyderabad lost opener Mayank Agarwal for 11 off 13 balls to Hardik Pandya, but it was a run feast for the SRH batters after that. Travis Head hammered 62 of 24 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes. Abhishek Sharma slammed 63 off only 23 balls, a blazing knock featuring three fours and as many as seven sixes.
The in-form Heinrich Klaasen then came in and clubbed 80 not out in just 34 balls. He hit four fours and as many as seven sixes in his unbeaten innings. Klaasen and fellow South African batter Aiden Markram (42 not out off 28) added an unbroken 116 runs for the fourth wicket.
In the chase, Mumbai Indians got off to a rollicking start. Ishan Kishan (34 off 13) and Rohit Sharma (26 off 12) added 56 in 3.2 overs. The entertainment ended when Kishan fell trying to take on Shahbaz Ahmed. Rohit also perished to SRH skipper Pat Cummins trying to keep up with the asking rate.
Tilak Varma top-scored for Mumbai Indians with 64 off 34, while Tim David remained unbeaten on 42 off 22. Naman Dhir contributed 30 off 14, but skipper Hardik Pandya struggled, scoring only 24 runs in 20 balls.
“That was insane. The ball was really pinging around. Not until we bowled, it got a bit too close for comfort. They found a boundary whenever they needed it, but we finished it off well,” Cummins said on the incredible run-hitting feat.
On Abhishek, he added, “Really impressive. In IPL, you play with a lot of pressure but he plays with great freedom. You never play for 270, but we wanted to be positive and be aggressive, take the game on,” the SRH skipper added about the team’s impressive approach.
--By A Cricket Correspondent