SRH vs MI, highlights: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), on Wednesday (March 27), beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to open their account in IPL 2024. After scoring a record 277 for 3, SRH restricted MI to 246/5.
Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma fired on all cylinders as MI reached fifty in just three overs. The duo added 56 runs for the first wicket before Shahbaz Ahmed dismissed Kishan for 34. In the fifth over, Pat Cummins dismissed Rohit for 26 to reduce MI to 66 for 2.
However, the twin breakthroughs did not help SRH take command of the proceedings as Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir kept MI in the hunt. They hit boundaries at regular intervals as MI reached 150 inside 11 overs. Varma completed his fifty off just 23 balls in the same over. Jaydev Unadkat broke the stand by dismissing Dhir for 30.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar then applied much-needed brakes to the runs by conceding just 5 runs in the 13th over. In the 15th over, Cummins dismissed Varma for 64 and gave away just 3 runs. It was followed by another good over as Unadkat conceded only 5 against Hardik Pandya and Tim David.
In the 17th over, David hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two sixes and a four to collect 20 runs but it was too late. They eventually fell short by 31 runs and finished on 246 for 5.
SRH vs MI: SRH innings
Earlier in the game, SRH posted a mammoth total of 277 for 3 after being asked to bat first. With Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen scoring whirlwind fifties, SRH also broke Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s long-standing record of the highest IPL total. The Bengaluru-based outfit held the record for scoring 263/5 against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Travis Head was only batting on 5 when Tim David dropped him in the second over and the southpaw made the most of the reprieve. While Mayank Agarwal failed to get going, it had little impact on Head and his new partner Abhishek Sharma. Both the batters matched each other shot for shot as they took MI bowlers to the cleaners.
Head got going by smashing Kwena Maphaka for two sixes and as many fours in the third over. In the fifth over, Hardik Pandya sent back Agarwal before being hit for three back-to-back fours by Head in the same over. In the final over of the powerplay, Head completed his fifty off just 18 balls as he and Sharma collected 23 runs from the Gerald Coetzee over.
Head also broke the record of fastest fifty for SRH in the IPL. At the end of the powerplay, SRH were on 81 for 1. In the seventh over, Sharma hit Piyush Chawla for three sixes to bring up the team hundred. Head was finally dismissed in the eighth over and departed after scoring 62 off just 24 balls.
His record for fastest fifty by a SRH batter, however, did not last long as Sharma completed his fifty in just 16 balls. Sharma departed in the 11th over after scoring 63 off 23. The dismissal, however, did not bring any respite for MI as Heinrich Klaasen went for the big shots right from the start.
He scored a 23-ball fifty and remained unbeaten on 80 off just 34 balls. On the other end, Aiden Markram played the role of second fiddle to perfection, scoring 42 off 28 balls.
SRH vs MI: Scorecard:
