A determined from David Warner (81*) and Wriddhiman Saha (58*) put on a show in Sharjah as the Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 10 wickets against the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday evening and booked themselves a berth in the playoffs at the expense of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sunrisers needed to win against Mumbai to keep their campaign going and the men in orange came out firing on all cylinders against Rohit Sharma and co. The well oiled unit of Hyderabad wasted no time in getting their act together, first with the ball and then with the bat, as they comprehensively defeated the defending champions.
Batting first, Mumbai failed to get going with Rohit falling cheaply and the likes of Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan only managing starts. Kieron Pollard, however, showed good intent in the back end to drive them to a respectable 149/8.
Hyderabad will now play Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator in Abu Dhabi on 6 November while Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians take centre stage in Dubai on 5 November.
Here’s a look back at the big moments from the final game of league stage in IPL 2020.
Sandeep Sharma Puts MI in a Spot of Bother
Warner’s bowlers had to back him up after they opted to field and right on cue Sandeep Sharma dismissed the opposition captain Rohit Sharma cheaply with a delightful change of pace. Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav then picked him off for a few boundaries, but the crafty pacer castled the South African for 25.
MI started to build once Sandeep was taken off the attack with Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan putting together a 42-run partnership. Warner turned to Sandeep again and he sent Kishan packing, much to the delight of SRH fans and Rashid Khan, who had been taken for some runs early in his spell.
Sandeep finished with figures of 3/34 from his four overs.
Kieron Pollard’s Counter-attack
Quite often, Pollard’s required to finish the MI innings with a flurry. In the last league stage game, however, his side needed him to dig them out of a hole after there was a mini-collapse in the middle order.
Pollard, who survived a few close LBW calls with the DRS being called in on each of the occasions, made SRH pay. He smashed four sixes and two boundaries in his 25-ball-41 to help MI reach 149/8.
Wriddhiman Saha’s All-round Show
When an in-form Suryakumar Yadav was striking it beautifully against SRH’s spinners, it was Saha behind the stumps who effected an outstanding stumping, turning the momentum in his side’s favour.
Suryakumar’s heel was centimeters off the ground as Saha whipped off the bails off the bowling of Shahbaz Nadeem. Later in the innings, he took a sharp catch off Saurabh Tiwary as Rashid Khan struck soon after the stumping.
After the break, Saha, as expected, opened the batting with Warner, and reminded his detractors about his ability with the bat, especially in the shortest format of the game. Saha went toe to toe along with his captain as they both completed well made half centuries and made life very difficult for the MI bowlers in Sharjah.
Saha eventually remained unbeaten on 58 with seven fours and a six to his name.
Warner Leads from the Front
Right from the word go, Warner and co looked like they were on a mission. Once there was a target in sight, after the good showing from his bowlers, Warner took charge. He pulled and cut with power as MI’s bowlers could only look on.
Warner, who took a bit of time to get going, went through the gears and played freely without taking any unnecessary risks. He reached his half century faster than his partner Saha and then brought out the wide array of shots he possesses.
Warner finished with 81*, yet again crossing the 500-run mark in a season, with 10 fours and one six.
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