5 memorable moments from the SRH vs MI match that don’t fade away

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad and table toppers Mumbai Indians came up against each other in match no. 48 of Vivo IPL 10. It was an important game for the Sunrisers as the race to the playoffs is heating up.

After winning the toss, Mumbai opted to bat first and were restricted to a total of 138 on a track that was difficult to bat on. Their attack was led by skipper Rohit Sharma who scored a gritty 45-ball 67.

On the back of exceptional batting by Shikhar Dhawan, the hosts chased down the target with 10 balls to spare and still have a good chance of making the playoffs.

Here are 5 memorable moments from the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes:

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#1 Siddharth Kaul’s spell

Siddharth Kaul has been a revelation of sorts for the Sunrisers. Against Mumbai, he removed an in form Nitish Rana, followed by Parthiv Patel and then skipper Rohit Sharma. Rana (11-ball 9) miscued a big hit off Kaul and spooned a simple catch to mid off.

Off the very next delivery, Kaul could have removed Parthiv as well, but Vijay Shankar dropped a simple catch at point. But an over later, Patel (17-ball 23) could not pick Kaul’s slower ball and was caught at long-on by Warner.

Kaul’s biggest wicket came in the form of the skipper Rohit Sharma, who looked in sublime form but got an inside edge onto the stumps. No other batsman bar Rohit looked even remotely comfortable on the two-paced pitch. This was a huge wicket as the Mumbai skipper had to depart after scoring a 45-ball 67.

#2 Rohit Sharma’s half century

Rohit Sharma finally found some form

Three boundaries in an over from Moises Henriques allowed Rohit Sharma to get the run rate up. Sharma, in the able company of Hardik Pandya, put on a 60-run stand but Rashid Khan got the latter caught while top edging a slog.

Sharma, however, went on to score a 45-ball 67, hitting six fours and 2 sixes. What was special about the skipper’s knock was that no other batsman looked comfortable batting on a two-paced wicket. With this knock, Rohit got to his third IPL 50 of this season.

Rohit’s confidence and hard-hitting on a track that didn’t seem the easiest to score on do not fade away.

#3 Mohammed Nabi’s heroics in the powerplay

Rashid Khan and Nabi restricted the run flow in the middle overs

3 overs for only 10 runs and a wicket in the first six overs was a superb display by the Afghan star. Simmons looked for a wild swing over midwicket, but missed and Nabi hit the stumps. Mumbai could manage only 36 runs in the powerplay as Nabi vindicated his selection perfectly.

He choked the batsmen with impeccable line and length and with his country-mate Rashid Khan, conceded only 35 runs in eight overs. In his 4 overs, he gave away only 13 runs to celebrate one of his finest figures in the IPL.

#4 Partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques

Henriques put on 91 runs alongside Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques put on a brisk stand despite David Warner falling early, as McClenaghan trapped the Aussie LBW with a searing yorker. A partnership of 91 runs enabled SRH to come back strongly, but Henriques fell to an off-breaker from Bumrah on 44.

On a day when Dhawan was included in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy, he put on a stellar show and made sure that the selectors slept peacefully. He got to his third fifty of the season and anchored Hyderabad’s chase with an unbeaten 46-ball 62.

#5 Harbhajan Singh’s spell

Harbhajan was economical but failed to pick up a wicket

Although in a losing cause, Harbhajan was very economical as has been the case right through the season. Although he has been deprived of wickets, he has never allowed the batsmen to dominate him and this trait surfaced today too.

In his 4 overs, he conceded just 23 runs, but failed to pick a single wicket. As Mumbai enter the playoffs, he would now want to get into the wickets column as picking up wickets in the middle overs is quite a defining part in any T20 game.