MUMBAI: The Mumbai Indians batters and bowlers starred in a comfortable four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
England all-rounder Will Jacks shone with both bat and ball, picking up two wickets to help restrict Hyderabad to 162 for five and then hitting a 26-ball 36 to help bolster his team’s chase.
Five-time champions Mumbai won the toss and bowled on a sluggish pitch at Wankhede Stadium.
Decent knocks from openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton helped set up the chase, while skipper Hardik Pandya smacked a quick 21 runs off nine balls toward the end to seal the game.
The match helps restore a bit of Mumbai’s mojo, pushing them into a crowded mid table. They have three victories in seven matches.
Pandya said the way his team bowled was “very smart and spot on.”
“We stuck to simple, basic plans,” the Mumbai skipper said, adding that once the pressure to get boundaries eased in the second innings, they “pushed the pedal at the end.”
Hyderabad openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head kicked off the first innings with a 59-run partnership before Sharma, who hit 40 runs off 28 balls, departed in the eighth over.
The team then struggled for momentum with Kishan (2) and Head (28) falling to leave Hyderabad at 83-3 at the end of the 12th over.
Disciplined bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Jacks continued to restrict Hyderabad’s batsmen but a valiant late-innings knock from Heinrich Klaasen (37) infused a glimmer of hope.
Young Aniket Verma then smacked a quick 18 runs off eight balls.
In reply, Mumbai’s openers made a solid start as Sharma hit 26 and Rickleton 31. They were 70-2 at the end of the 10th over.
Jacks helped anchor the chase with his 26-ball 36 before departing in the 15th over. Suryakumar Yadav hit 26 and the final touches were added by Pandya and Tilak Varma, who hit an unbeaten 21, as Mumbai won with 11 balls to spare.
Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins admitted that it was not the “easiest” wicket.
“Got to play well away from home to make the finals, unfortunately not clicked yet.”
Jacks helps Mumbai beat Hyderabad in IPL
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Jacks helps Mumbai beat Hyderabad in IPL
- England all-rounder Will Jacks shone with both bat and ball, picking up two wickets to help restrict Hyderabad to 162 for five
- Suryakumar Yadav hit 26 and the final touches were added by Pandya and Tilak Varma, who hit an unbeaten 21, as Mumbai won with 11 balls to spare
Liverpool’s Wirtz will score many more after Wolves winner, says Slot
- Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz in June for a reported fee of £100 million, with a further £16 million in potential bonuses
- The 22-year-old had failed to find the net in more than 20 appearances for Liverpool before scoring the winner in Saturday’s match
Florian Wirtz is beginning to find his feet at Liverpool and will keep getting better, manager Arne Slot said after the German midfielder scored his first goal for the Premier League champions in their 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool signed Wirtz in June for a reported fee of 100 million pounds ($135 million), with a further 16 million pounds in potential bonuses.
The 22-year-old had failed to find the net in more than 20 appearances for Liverpool before scoring the winner in Saturday’s match, and Slot said his performances had been undervalued due to football’s obsession with statistics.
“I’m quite sure it was a relief for him. This I could see after his reaction after he scored the goal – and the same I saw with his teammates. I think they were really happy for him,” Slot told reporters.
“In football – rightly so, maybe – we mainly get judged on results, and individuals mainly get judged on goals and assists. Sometimes we tend to forget what else there is to do during a game.”
The Dutch manager called on Wirtz to keep going after ending his drought.
“He’s had multiple good games for us but I also feel he gets better and better every single game he is playing for us. He gets fitter and fitter and was getting closer and closer to his first goal,” he added.
“Then it was not a surprise to me that he scored one today, but he would probably be the first one to understand that one goal is not enough.
“He will score many more goals for us than only this one, but I also liked his performance during large parts of the game today. I think he was special in a lot of moments.”
Liverpool, fourth in the standings, next host 16th-placed Leeds United in a league match on January 1.
