Match Recap

Riding on Kieron Pollard’s late innings pyrotechnics with the bat and Alzarri Joseph’s record-making bowling spell, the Mumbai Indians defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 40 runs on Saturday night.

The Mumbai Indians, put in to bat, struggled to come to terms with the sluggish surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. One after another, the MI batsmen attempted to force their way out of trouble, but didn't succeed and fell cheaply. After a cautious start, Kieron Pollard switched gears and rescued his team. Courtesy the Trinidadian's blitz, MI scored 56 runs in the last four overs and finished at 136-7.

What one suspected was a competitive total ended up becoming a match-winning one after the debutant Alzarri Joseph ripped through the Sunrisers batting line-up; his 6 for 12 would become the best-ever figures in the IPL. MI bundled out the Sunrisers for 96 in 17.4 overs.

Standout batting performances

The Mumbai Indians innings was pretty much in second gear or third gear for most part of their innings. That was until Kieron Pollard took matters in his own hands. The Trinidadian celebrated the occasion of him becoming the Mumbai Indians' most-capped player with a stroke-filled innings. After coming out to bat at number six, he took his time initially - scoring only 8 runs of the first 12 balls he faced; he was handed a reprieve at that point when Rashid Khan put down a catch at the extra cover boundary.

Pollard made the hosts pay for that lapse by smashing four sixes and two fours. He finished unbeaten on 46 from the 26 balls and would be the only batsman in the match to score more than 20.

Standout Bowling performance

Alzarri Joseph, who was signed up by the Mumbai Indians as a replacement for the injured Adam Milne, was handed his debut on Saturday. The youngster made an impact straightaway; his first delivery was about 140ks, full and angling across David Warner, which the batsmen dragged back into his stumps. Five dot deliveries followed. Wicket Maiden – the perfect start.

The young fast bowler built on his dream start by dismissing Vijay Shankar with a skiddy short delivery in his second over. He was given a break thereafter and was not handed the ball until the 16^th over. He castled Deepak Hooda with a delivery full and straight, then did Rashid Khan for pace, and held on to the top edge. In his following over, he hit the middle stump behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar and brought the curtains on the Sunrisers innings when he had Siddarth Kaul caught behind the wickets.

Joseph’s figures in the match read 3.1 overs, 1 maiden over, 12 runs, 6 wickets.

Brief Scores:

Mumbai Indians: 136-7 (Kieron Pollard 46, Siddarth Kaul 2-34) defeated

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 96 all out in 17.4 overs (Alzarri Joseph 6-12, Rahul Chahar 2-21) by 40 runs.

Stat of the Match

Alzarri Joseph’s 6-12 would be the best bowling performance in the IPL; he bettered the previous record of 6 for 14, which was set by Sohail Tanvir in the very first season of the league.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 96 all out was the lowest total they were bowled out for in the IPL.

Man of the Match:

Alzarri Joseph, for his spell of 3.4-1-12-6.