.jpg)
Hyderabad, April 23 (IANS) A 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Heinrich Klaasen and Abhinav Manohar after the initial collapse of 13/4 propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to 143/8 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians in Match 41 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, SRH found themselves in trouble right from the outset. In the very first over, Abhishek Sharma got a lucky reprieve. Deepak Chahar, getting the ball to swing prodigiously, induced a mishit drive, only to drop a return catch off a low full-toss. It was a regulation chance that went down, setting the tone for a sloppy SRH start.
Trent Boult, operating from the other end, struck with his second ball. Travis Head, aiming to go over mid-off, was deceived by a lovely outswinger and ended up slicing it squarer than intended. Naman Dhir judged it well, running in from a deep backward point to complete the catch and send Head back for a duck. The early breakthrough unsettled SRH, and the wickets kept tumbling.
Ishan Kishan (1), promoted up the order, fell in the familiar fashion — a leg-side strangle off Chahar. Even though UltraEdge showed no spike, Kishan walked off voluntarily after feeling a faint edge, showing rare honesty, but leaving his team in disarray at 2 for 2. His departure gave MI early control, and they pressed on.
Abhishek Sharma’s (8) shaky stay ended soon. Boult, cleverly using the knuckleball, deceived Abhishek with a change of pace, and the left-hander could only slice a simple catch to point. With that, SRH slumped to 13 for 3 in just 3.3 overs.
The collapse continued in the fifth over when Nitish Reddy (2) miscued a full delivery from Chahar. Attempting to drive, he failed to get under the ball and lobbed it straight to Mitchell Santner at mid-on. By the end of the powerplay, SRH were reeling at 24 for 4 — the lowest powerplay score of IPL 2025 so far.
The horror show wasn't done yet. Aniket Verma (12), SRH’s Impact Player, struggled to get going and eventually perished trying to pull a well-directed slower bouncer from Hardik Pandya. The top edge carried comfortably to the keeper, and SRH slipped to 35 for 5 in the ninth over.
But just when it seemed like SRH might struggle to even cross 49 — their infamous lowest-ever score from 2016 — Klaasen began to assert himself. Vignesh Puthur’s half-trackers in the 10th over offered him some respite, allowing SRH to pick up 15 runs. Klaasen struck a series of well-timed boundaries, rotating strike efficiently, and began to rebuild.
Over the next two overs, Klaasen showcased his class. He scored 31 runs across the 10th and 11th overs, capitalising on marginal errors in line and length by MI pacers. One of his standout shots was a superb checked drive-through covers off Hardik Pandya, which highlighted his composure under pressure.
While Klaasen kept the scoreboard ticking, Abhinav Manohar struggled at the other end, scratching around with 10 off 16 at the 14-over mark. MI spinners, particularly Mitchell Santner, bowled with discipline, varying pace and clever seam angles. On a slightly dry pitch, SRH’s inability to rotate strike and lack of intent against spin kept them on the back foot.
By the 15th over, SRH had reached 90 for 5, thanks to Klaasen’s lone battle. He looked largely risk-averse, attacking only the loose deliveries, which reflected both his maturity and SRH’s desperation to preserve wickets. MI, sensing that Klaasen was SRH’s only hope of setting a competitive total, decided to take off the expensive Vignesh Puthur after one over.
With just four overs to go, the final push began. In the 17th and 18th overs, bowled by Bumrah and Hardik, SRH finally found some rhythm, with both Klaasen and Manohar striking boundaries. Manohar in particular broke the shackles with two well-timed fours and a six, giving the innings some late momentum. Klaasen continued to find the gaps, rotating strike smartly.
Earlier, MI bowlers had dominated the power-play, but Klaasen’s calculated aggression and Manohar’s late cameos ensured that SRH had at least a respectable total in sight heading into the final two overs. Whether it will be enough, only time will tell.
Jasprit Bumrah may have had an unusually expensive outing by his standards, but he still found a milestone moment to cap off his spell — his 300th T20 wicket. Bowling the penultimate over, Bumrah delivered four full tosses, a rare lapse in execution from the usually clinical pacer.
However, it was one of those full-tosses that brought him the prized scalp of Klaasen, who had just reverse-scooped the previous ball for an outrageous six over short third man. This time, Klaasen swung hard to the leg side but could only find the fielder at deep backward square leg. His dismissal brought an end to a brilliant lone battle — a terrific 71 off 44 balls.
Trent Boult picked up two wickets in the final over--overall four, one of which was the dismissal of Abhinav Manohar for a well-compiled 43 off 37 balls.
It was a rare and curious hit-wicket dismissal. Boult had fired in a yorker that beat Manohar completely, but the batter, who was standing unusually deep in his crease, had already dislodged the bails with his bat while attempting to chop the ball down. As a result, even before the yorker could rattle the stumps, Manohar had been declared out hit-wicket.
Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 143/8 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 71, Abhinav Manohar 43; Trent Boult 4-26, Deepak Chahar 2/12) against Mumbai Indians.
