MI restrict SRH to 162 on slow pitch

Mumbai Indians won what could yet be an important toss - given the chance of dew - and restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 162 for 5 on an unusually sluggish surface at the Wankhede Stadium. MI's bowlers used changes of pace and used the yorker frequently throughout the innings to keep SRH quiet despite an opening stand of 59 between Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, and it was only thanks to a pair of 21-run overs at the death that SRH got past 160.

Five sixes came in those two overs - the 18th and 20th, bowled by Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya respectively - and those were the only sixes in SRH's innings. There was some impressive hitting involved, particularly from Heinrich Klaasen and Aniket Verma, but it was instructive that three of the sixes came off full-tosses.

There were seven full-tosses in all over the last three overs, and that could yet be a sign of dew setting in, which could potentially make batting easier for the chasing team.

One of those full-tosses produced a wicket, bowling Klaasen as he tried to manufacture room, and it was unsurprisingly delivered by the man with the most challenging full-toss in the game, Jasprit Bumrah. MI's talisman set the tone for them with 1 for 21 in his four overs, two of which came in the powerplay.

Their most successful bowler on the day, though, was Will Jacks, who picked up a remarkable 2 for 14 in three overs. The offspinner, used immediately after the powerplay to match up against SRH's left-handed top three, found plenty of grip and took the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Head.

Jacks not only bossed his match-up but also gave MI breathing room after they lost their legspinner Karn Sharma to an injury in the third over of the match. Karn, the Player of the Match in their last game against Delhi Capitals, went off the field with what seemed to be a split webbing after diving forward at midwicket to try and catch a ball that fell just short of him. With Jacks able to fill in for three overs, MI did not need to replace Karn with a bowler, which left them with the option of bringing on Rohit Sharma as their Impact Player at the start of their chase. Jacks' overs also allowed MI to use Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin for only one over against a team with a high number of left-hand batters.

That near-chance was the second time in three overs that a ball had not carried to Karn at midwicket. SRH's top order had endured rough luck in their recent run of four straight defeats, and that luck changed when Abhishek's scintillating hundred powered them to a successful chase of 246 in their last match against Punjab Kings. Luck continued to go SRH's way at the start of this game, with Jacks dropping an edge off Abhishek off the first ball of the match, and Head later being caught off a no-ball.

But the luck didn't seem to help SRH's scoring rate. When he was caught off that no-ball from Hardik in the 10th over, he was batting on 24 off 24 balls. He fell soon after for 28 off 29. Abhishek was a little more fluent, hitting seven fours in a 28-ball 40.

Hardik broke the opening stand in the eighth over, getting Abhishek caught on the point boundary, right after enduring a major injury scare. He had seemed to hurt either his left shin or ankle in his follow-through after delivering the previous ball, and seemed to indicate to the MI dugout that he needed a substitute, but as it happened, he managed to dust himself off and continue bowling.