IPL 2017, SRH vs MI: 91-run partnership between Henriques and Dhawan is the SK Turning point of the Match
Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed the Mumbai Indians by seven wickets as they displayed a clinical performance at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. While the Mumbai Indians have secured a place in the final four, the defending champions are placed fourth on the points table with 15 points from their 13 league matches.
The Orange Army stumbled in their last game against the Rising Pune Supergiant at home and made up for the loss with a commanding seven-wicket victory over the table toppers to inch closer to a playoff spot.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Rohit Sharma cited the reason as wanting to test his batting unit up front. With rain forecast, the move surprised many people as the wicket was expected to hold up in the initial phase of the match.
The batting unit struggled to get going with wickets tumbling at regular intervals and Mumbai were reliant on their skipper to shoulder the responsibility and post a decent total in the first innings. The 30-year-old anchored the innings with an explosive 67 off 47 deliveries with six boundaries and couple of hits over the fence.
Coming to bat at number four on a slow turning track, Rohit got all his experience into play and registered his highest score in this edition of the tournament. A well compiled half century under pressure ensured that the Mumbai Indians crawled their way to 138 in their allotted quota of 20 overs.
Extra Cover: 5 memorable moments from the SRH vs MI match that don’t fade away
Lack of partnerships in the middle overs along with some brilliant bowling at the back end of the innings restricted the Mumbai-based franchise to a sub-par total.
In reply, the Hyderabad outfit made a dismal start to their run chase as they lost their in-form leader, David Warner in the second over of the innings for six runs. The aggressive opening batsman is the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 535 runs in the 12 league matches and the mainstay in the batting unit for the Sunrisers.
The Hyderabad franchise were jolted early in the run chase but the experienced duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques ensured that the home team did not suffer any more jitters. They forged a crucial 91 run stand for the second wicket to guide the Hyderabad-based franchise to a comfortable victory and that stand is the SK Turning Point of the Match.
The partnership
The hard-hitting right-hander, Henriques, has been in sublime form throughout the tenth edition and is a vital cog in the batting department for the Sunrisers. Coming in to bat after the departure of his skipper, Henriques slowly went about his business by settling down and accumulating the ones and twos.
Dhawan, on the other hand, handed the responsibility by the team management to anchor the batting unit, did not disappoint.
The duo steadied the ship as they soaked up the pressure and slowly forged a vital stand to lay a strong foundation in the run chase. The surface at Hyderabad was sticky throughout the day and it was difficult for the batsmen to play free-flowing strokes. However, the Sunrisers duo read the wicket to perfection and went about picking the gaps and running hard between the wickets.
The southpaw was at his aggressive best as he launched a counter-attack on the spinners with his wide array of strokes. The 31-year-old punished the bad deliveries with his powerful sweep shot and late cuts to keep the scoreboard ticking.
The stylish right-hander at the other end kept rotating the strike and found the odd boundary to ease the pressure. He was particularly severe on Lasith Malinga as he pulled him to the deep midwicket boundary on a couple of occasions.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017, SRH vs MI: 5 things that went wrong for Mumbai Indians
The partnership of 91 runs was finally broken in the first ball of the 13th over as Henriques was caught by Rohit Sharma at the covers for 44 runs.
In the context of the game
The crucial second-wicket stand ensured that the home team did not face any hiccups in the run chase and helped them keep their campaign alive in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. Chasing a below par score of 139 runs, a huge partnership can take the game away from the opposition and this is what exactly happened in Hyderabad as the defending champions cruised to an easy victory, courtesy a brilliant foundation laid by Dhawan and Henriques.
Dhawan top scored for the home team with an unbeaten 62 off 42 balls with four boundaries and two massive sixes.