IPL 2023: Mayank, Vivrant power SRH to 200/5 vs MI
Sunrisers Hyderabad have posted 200/5 versus Mumbai Indians in the penultimate league game of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). Both SRH openers Mayank Agarwal and Vivrant Sharma slammed fifties as MI bowlers had a tough outing at the Wankhede Stadium. Notably, a defeat in this contest will all but confirm MI's ouster from the playoff race. Here we look at the innings report.
Summary of powerplay overs
MI won the toss and elected to bowl at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. SRH were off to a cautious start as new-ball bowlers Cameron Green and Jason Behrendorff were getting the new ball to swing. However, the shackles were broken from the third over onward as both Mayank and Vivrant opened their arms. The Orange Army were 53/0 after six overs.
Debut half-century for Vivrant
Vivrant brought up a fine fifty in his debut IPL innings. At 23 years and 203 days, he became SRH's third-youngest half-centurion after Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma. Vivrant did not get to bat in his first two IPL outings. He ended up scoring a 47-ball 69 (9 fours, 2 sixes). He added 140 runs with Mayank, the highest partnership for SRH this season.
Maiden fifty for Mayank in IPL 2023
Mayank finally scored his maiden fifty in SRH colors. Leaving his poor run of form behind, the opener paced his knock to perfection and ended up scoring a 46-ball 83. This knock powered his season tally to 270 runs in 10 games with his strike rate being 128.57. Overall, he has raced to 2,596 runs in 123 IPL games (50s: 13, 100: 1).
Mayank, Vivrant tighten SRH's grip in middle overs
The dominance of SRH openers continued in the middle overs as the scoring rate kept climbing. Both Mayank and Vivrant brought up their respective fifties as spin twins Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya were taken to the cleaners. Pacer Akash Madhwal drew the first blood for MI in the 14th over, dismissing Vivrant. SRH were 157/1 after the end of the 15 overs.
How did the final five overs pan out?
The in-form Heinrich Klaasen (18) arrived at number three and he attacked bowlers from the outset. Madhwal dismissed Agarwal in the 17th over before Chris Jordan got the better of Glenn Phillips (1) in the following over. Madhwal struck twice in his last over. The fall of these wickets brought the scoring rate down as SRH managed 43 runs in the final five overs.
How did the bowlers perform?
It was a tough day at the office for MI bowlers. Both spinners Chawla and Kartikeya went wicket-less, conceding 39 runs apiece in their quota of four overs. Behrendorff (0/36) and Chris Jordan (1/42) were also expensive. Akash Madhwal scalped a four-fer, 4/37 in four overs. Cameron Green conceded two runs in the solitary over he bowled.
What does MI need to advance in playoff race?
MI must chase down this target inside 11.4 overs to go past Royal Challengers Bangalore's net run rate of +0.180. If MI fail to do so, they would need RCB to lose their last league game against Gujarat Titans besides defeating SRH. Even a washout in the RCB-GT game would see MI go through if they manage to defeat Aiden Markram's men.
