STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsIt was a mountainous task for Mumbai Indians heading into the final match of the league stage of IPL 2021 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The only way for Mumbai to qualify to the play-offs was to win by 171 runs. If Hyderabad had batted first, they were out at the toss itself. Luckily, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma, had the toss in his favor and it was no-brainer that they chose to bat.
On the back of a quick-fire half-century against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai’s previous match, Ishan Kishan had the onus of giving them a good start. Fitting to the expectation, the young opener set the stage on fire in the powerplay overs by scoring a 50 off just 16 balls. They lost the skipper in the powerplay but the Mumbai batsmen continued attacking. Well, that was the only way for them to score big. After the dismissal of Ishan in the ninth over, Mumbai slowed down. However, Suryakumar Yadav blasted his way through with a 24-ball fifty. His 40-ball 82 propelled Mumbai to 235/9. Any team would be more than happy with that score, but Mumbai needed more to put the pressure on Hyderabad.
Though Mumbai had 236 runs to defend on board, for them the target to defend was 65. But, the reply from Hyderabad was in contrast to Mumbai's expectation. Within the powerplay overs, Hyderabad shattered Mumbai’s dream of making it to the play-offs. Jason Roy and Abhishek Sharma posted 64 runs for the first wicket. Even after the dismissal of Roy and Abhishek, the Hyderabad skipper, Manish Pandey kept the charge on. However, a target of 236 was an uphill task. But, Hyderabad batsmen made sure that they didn’t lose by a big margin. Manish stayed unbeaten on 69 as Hyderabad lost by 42 runs. Here are a few notable stats from Match 55:
Ishan Kishan sets the stage ablaze
Kishan had the freedom to go big in this match and the youngster came out all guns blazing. He began with a six off the first ball he faced against Mohammad Nabi. Hence, he became the fourth Mumbai opener to whack a six off the first delivery he faced. Kishan swung his bat ferociously to reach a fifty off only 16 balls, the fastest for a Mumbai batsman in the IPL. He reached his half-century in the fourth over and only one batsman has had a quicker fifty and that was KL Rahul against Delhi Capitals. In that innings Rahul recorded the fastest fifty, reaching the milestone in the third over (2.5).
Blistering start
At one end, when Kishan had gone berserk, the Mumbai skipper was a mere spectator as he could contribute only 18 runs at a strike rate of 138.5. Nevertheless, Kishan single handedly blasted through his way in the powerplay by scoring 63 runs out of the 83 scored by Mumbai. Thanks to his innings, Mumbai registered their second highest powerplay score in the IPL. Their highest of 84/0 came against Delhi Capitals in 2018 in Mumbai.
Highest score at the first half
With the start Mumbai got in the powerplay, it looked like a 250 was on the cards, or maybe more. After scoring 83 runs in the first six overs, the momentum wasn’t hampered. Though the field was spread, Mumbai batsmen found the fence on a consistent basis. In the four overs after the powerplay, they added 48 runs. Only the 10th over yielded less than eight runs. At the end of 10 overs, Mumbai had posted 131 runs for the loss of three wickets. This is the joint most runs a team has accumulated in the first 10 overs in the IPL.
Dealt in boundaries
Throughout the innings, Mumbai failed to score a boundary in an over only twice. The last over of the powerplay (5 runs and wicket) and the 13th over by Abhishek Sharma (5 runs and two wickets). Overall, Mumbai batsmen hit 38 boundaries – 30 fours and eight sixes – which is the most for them in an IPL match. In the history of IPL, among all teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore in their feat of highest total against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India, had 41 boundaries, the most in a match.
Mumbai smash their way to achieve their highest total
Heading into this match, Mumbai needed all their best. They needed the highest total and they had to bowl out their opponent to the lowest score. Their batsmen accomplished what they were looking for as they helped Mumbai post their highest total not only in IPL, but their best in T20s as well. In fact, at one time, they had the chance to go past Bangalore’s record of 263. But, the four overs between the 10th and the 13th fetched them only 27 runs and they lost three wickets in this span.
Piyush tops the wicket-takers list among Indians
The 32-year old leg spinner Piyush Chawla, made his first appearance for Mumbai in IPL. Being one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket, Piyush had the joint most wickets among Indians in T20s. In his match against Hyderabad, with the wicket of Mohammad Nabi, Piyush went past another leg-spinner Amit Mishra (262) to become the leading wicket taker among Indians in the shortest format.
Run fest at the start
The best thing about this match was Hyderabad didn’t go into the shell after getting smacked for 235 runs. Both the teams threw the kitchen sinks and they gave their absolute best. In the first six over, both teams managed to score 70+ runs. Mumbai batting first posted 83 runs and Hyderabad in reply scored 70. An aggregate of 153 runs in the powerplay, which is the second best in the league. Just like Mumbai, Hyderabad also didn’t slow down after the powerplay. If Mumbai scored 131 at the 10 overs mark, Hyderabad had 105 at that stage of their innings. The aggregate of 236 runs in the first half is the highest in an IPL match.
Flurry of boundaries
With one team scoring 235 and another scoring 193, it is obvious that there would have been a cascade of boundaries. As the boundaries are bigger, the maximums are lesser, but there were plenty of fours. In total there were 51 fours and 12 sixes in the match, combining to 63 boundaries. In an IPL match in the UAE, this is the joint most boundaries hit. The highest chase of 224 by Rajasthan against Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 in Sharjah, had witnessed a total of 34 fours and 29 sixes. However, in a match that has seen an aggregate of 400+, the 12 sixes hit in this match is the lowest.
Mohammad Nabi’s magnetic hands
Amidst the run feast, the ball had a special liking towards Nabi. Almost under every mistimed hit, the Afghan all-rounder was around to catch it. In total, Nabi nabbed five catches in the match against Mumbai, making him the first fielder – non-wicket-keeper – to bag five catches in an IPL innings. Including wicket-keepers, there are only two players who have had five catches to their name in IPL. Kumar Sangakkara in 2011 for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers had five affected five dismissals against Bangalore and all were catches.
