Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 18 (ANI): Will Jacks’ impressive all-round performance powered Mumbai Indians (MI) to their third win of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by four wickets on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Chasing 163, MI got the job done in 18.1 overs, with Jacks playing a crucial role both with bat and ball.
Jacks made a vital contribution of 36 runs off 26 balls during the chase and earlier picked up two important wickets, dismissing Ishan Kishan and the dangerous Travis Head in the first innings, putting a lid on SRH’s momentum.
The Mumbai openers came out with intent as Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma began aggressively, stroking some elegant boundaries. However, Rohit fell after a brisk 26, dismissed by SRH skipper Pat Cummins, leaving MI at 32/1 in 3.5 overs.
Jacks then joined Rickelton at the crease and the duo added 37 runs before Rickelton was removed by Harshal Patel for 31. Suryakumar Yadav walked in and wasted no time, smashing a quickfire 26 off 15 deliveries, including two sixes and two boundaries, before falling to Cummins.
Jacks too departed shortly after, with Cummins picking up his third wicket and tilting the game slightly in SRH’s favour. At 128/4 in 14.3 overs, the match was still in balance.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya played a short but impactful cameo, blasting 21 runs off just 9 deliveries to bring the equation down to a run-a-ball. However, he was dismissed with just one run required for victory, dismissed by Eshan Malinga. Naman Dhir came in next but was out for a duck, also falling to Malinga.
Tilak Varma, holding his nerve, remained unbeaten on 21 to guide MI over the finish line without further drama.
SRH’s bowling was spearheaded by Pat Cummins, who was the standout performer with figures of 3/26 in his four overs. Eshan Malinga supported well with 2/36, while Harshal Patel chipped in with one wicket. However, the total of 162 proved insufficient against MI’s deep and explosive batting lineup.
Earlier in the match, MI won the toss and opted to field first. After that, Abhishek Sharma (40 in 28 balls, with seven fours) and Head (28 in 29 balls, with three fours) put on a 59-run partnership. However, the team could not maintain a fiery run-rate living up to the standard of their fiery brand of cricket, despite some effort from Heinrich Klaasen (37 in 28 balls, with three fours and two sixes). SRH posted 162/5 in their 20 overs, with Will Jacks (2/14) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/21) being top bowlers. (ANI)
