IPL 2017, SRH vs MI: 5 things that went wrong for Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians were sitting pretty at the top of the table with nine wins and just two losses, which meant their only concern was finishing in the top two.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, had just six wins out of 12 matches and a loss could have meant some serious competition from Kings XI Punjab. So, the defending champions were under pressure, although playing on their home turf was bound to give them a boost.

They certainly played like defending champions, showing the best team in this year’s IPL their bowling might. In the end, SRH’s bowling really won them the game and despite David Warner’s failure, Shikhar Dhawan, with an unbeaten 62, ensured SRH crossed the finishing line, chasing down 139 with ease and winning the match by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare.

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

MI surprisingly chose to bat after winning the toss, probably experimenting before the playoffs. But here are 5 things that didn’t go down well for them.

---

#1 Bad start

MI had a horror start as Lendl Simmons, the half-centurion from the other night, fell in the second over to Mohammad Nabi, his stumps being castled. Nitish Rana, one of MI’s more successful batsmen this season, followed suit a couple of overs later.

Parthiv Patel’s 17-ball cameo ended soon as well and MI were left struggling at 36 for 3 in 6.1 overs, with one of their worst power play displays this season. Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma added 60 for the fourth wicket but Pandya couldn’t get off the blocks at all largely because of the poor start MI had.

Much credit has to be given to SRH’s young Siddharth Kaul, who moved the ball at pace, with accuracy, and picked up two early wickets.

#2 Timing of Rohit Sharma’s dismissal

The skipper’s third fifty in five games couldn’t save MI

The well-set Rohit Sharma played a delivery onto his stumps in the first ball of the 19^th over. MI were 126 for 4 at that stage and managed just 138 for 7 in 20. His dismissal easily made a difference of 20 runs and 150 could have made the match a little tighter.

Rohit played a captain’s knock, scoring 67 off 45 balls with six fours and 2 sixes but he hardly had any support from the other end. His dismissal at a time when MI could have launched an all-out assault dragged them down and turned a potentially competitive total into a feeble one.

Apart from Parthiv, Rohit was the only one to score at more than 100 for MI and it was his third fifty in five innings, justifying his inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy squad.

#3 Lasith Malinga’s off-day

Malinga clearly struggled to get his act together

MI’s once talismanic bowler Lasith Malinga looked like a pale shadow of his former self and was taken apart by SRH’s Moises Henriques. Malinga went for 33 off his four overs but did manage to pick up the wicket of Yuvraj Singh.

Nevertheless, neither his yorkers nor his slower bouncers were effective. An important cog in MI’s wheel, Malinga needed to be at the top of his game with MI defending a sub-par total. While Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah were economical, Malinga leaked way too many runs, unable to build pressure at any point.

Karn Sharma wasn’t effective with his leg-spin either. This probably could mean Malinga losing his spot to Mitchell Johnson, who might give MI more potency for the playoffs.

#4 Questionable captaincy by Rohit

Rohit needed to go all out with McClenaghan and Bumrah but he didn’t

Rohit is usually sharp with his captaincy but he made quite a few tactical mistakes. Firstly, choosing to bat first was a gift to SRH but the decision could be justified as an experiment to prepare for the playoffs.

But taking McClenaghan off after he picked up David Warner’s wicket with his first delivery was probably a mistake. Similarly, he saved Bumrah and McClenaghan for the end when he had hardly any runs to defend. That meant more overs for Malinga and that never let the pressure build on the batsmen.

Even towards the end, Malinga bowled the 17^th over when it should have been Bumrah who was given a chance to work some magic with 18 runs still to defend. One might also argue that picking an off-colour Malinga ahead of Johnson was a bad move, given the former has struggled this season.

#5 Sending Pandya ahead of Pollard

Pollard batting below Pandya was hard to fathom

This was one of the weirdest decisions of the day even considering that the skipper was trying various permutations and combinations for the playoffs. Pollard has been in excellent form in the last few matches and the last thing MI needed was to demote him down the order and waste that form.

Pandya scored 15 off 24 balls and that offset Rohit Sharma’s excellent batting at the other end. The duo added 60 but Pandya’s dismissal in the 15^th over after getting settled didn’t help MI’s cause. That time in the middle may have helped Pollard who will be crucial for MI in the playoffs.