Ryan Rickelton’s brilliant hundred couldn’t prevent Mumbai Indians from falling to a six-wicket loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. The left-handed batsman struck his first IPL century as MI accumulated 243 for 5 after choosing to bat first. Rickelton reached his hundred in just 44 deliveries, setting a new record as the quickest MI player to achieve this milestone. He partnered with Will Jacks to put together 93 runs from 43 balls in their opening stand. Jacks departed after scoring 46 from 22 balls, while Rickelton remained unbeaten on 123 from 55 deliveries, registering the highest individual score by an MI player. Despite this impressive total, MI fell short as they dropped several catches in the field and their bowling attack struggled across the board, with even Jasprit Bumrah having an off day. Travis Head (76 from 30) and Heinrich Klaasen (65 not out from 30) led the charge as SRH crossed the finish line with eight deliveries remaining. SRH beats MI to achieve fifth consecutive match victory .
TOSS
Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar
MUMBAI INDIANS
Based on their powerplay showing, absolutely. Will Jacks, making his season debut, was promoted to open and delivered a spectacular 22-ball 46, dismantling the bowling of Praful Hinge, Pat Cummins and Harsh Dubey. Ryan Rickelton proved equally devastating from his end, launching sixes off Hinge and Sakib Hussain as the pair accumulated 78 runs during the powerplay after MI chose to bat first.
When SRH introduced their sixth bowling option, Nitish Reddy, in the eighth over, the pace bowler managed to get some movement and trapped Jacks behind the wicket with his opening delivery, breaking the 93-run partnership. Eight deliveries later, Eshan Malinga challenged Suryakumar Yadav with a short ball, resulting in a catch at fine leg. These consecutive dismissals helped SRH regain some control.
Although Naman Dhir needed time to settle in, Rickelton continued finding scoring opportunities across the field. Despite various tactical approaches used against the left-hander, he successfully targeted different areas of the ground for boundaries. He showed particular strength on the leg side. Harsh Dubey suffered the most damage, conceding 50 runs from his three-over spell. During the later middle overs, Malinga, Cummins and Praful Hinge each bowled economical overs to control the scoring rate.
Hardik Pandya’s explosive 15-ball innings brought 31 runs, though this phase saw Rickelton receiving limited strike. Despite his remarkable 123-run knock, the highest by any MI batsman, and finishing the innings with a four and six, managing only 87 runs in the final eight overs ultimately proved decisive.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Travis Head hadn’t found his usual rhythm leading up to this match. His innings could have ended multiple times today. During the opening over, an edge narrowly missed Will Jacks. In the third over, Naman Dhir put down a chance when Head was on 2 at the boundary. Two overs afterward, he again found Naman Dhir, this time at backward point, with his edge sailing just beyond the fielder’s reach.
However, he capitalized on these reprieves, beginning with three sixes off Trent Boult in the third over to build momentum. When the powerplay concluded, he had struck five maximums and three boundaries. The following over saw him complete his fifty with another six. Once more, Naman Dhir was involved, getting his hand to the ball and trying to keep it in play, but despite his excellent attempt, he couldn’t stop the six.
Despite Mumbai Indians having seven bowling choices at their disposal, none proved effective. Even Will Jacks’ off-spin was dispatched for 19 runs in the fifth over by Head and Abhishek Sharma. No bowler escaped punishment from this aggressive batting display, including Jasprit Bumrah who conceded 28 runs across two overs.
The SRH opening pair raced to 92 runs during the powerplay – matching the highest total scored against MI. They maintained this aggressive approach afterward, reaching 126 runs in just 8 overs, reducing the required rate to approximately 10 runs per over in their 245-run pursuit.
Briefly, they managed to apply pressure. After being hammered for 12 runs in his first two overs, AM Ghazanfar returned in the ninth over and claimed Abhishek and Ishan Kishan with consecutive deliveries. Abhishek mistimed a heave to Trent Boult while Kishan chopped onto his stumps. The next over saw Hardik induce Head to chip a drive to extra cover as SRH tumbled from 129 without loss to 133 for 3 within 10 balls, bringing two fresh batsmen together.
Heinrich Klaasen quickly exploited the wayward lines and lengths from Ghazanfar, smashing the spinner for 16 runs in the 11th over to prevent MI from seizing control. In the following over, he readily dispatched the short and wide offerings from Ashwani Kumar. By the time MI discovered the ideal strategy – wide yorkers outside off stump – the required rate had fallen to around nine per over. Though Nitish Reddy and Klaasen found it difficult to score freely against these deliveries from Trent Boult and Pandya, Bumrah and Ghazanfar, who abandoned this approach, were severely punished, and the asking rate kept declining.
Reddy fell to an unexpected quick bouncer from Boult, but Salil Arora arrived and ensured there was no pressure to absorb. He launched three sixes and two fours to guide SRH home without any late drama.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians 243/5 in 20 overs [Ryan Rickelton 123* (55), Will Jacks 46 (22); Eshan Malinga 1-29] lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 249/4 in 18.4 overs [Travis Head 76 (30), Heinrich Klaasen 65* (30); AM Ghazanfar 2-51] by 6 wickets.
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