In the 41st match, Mumbai Indians (MI) hosted Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The game was exciting with another excellent batting display from both sides. In the end, Pat Cummins’ team chased down the mammoth total of 244 runs with 8 balls to spare and continued their winning streak to 5 wins in a row.
MI won the toss and opted to bat first in a game they had to win. Hardik Pandya’s team made four changes before the match; Ryan Rickelton, Trent Boult, Robin Minz and Will Jacks came in, with Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Santner, Sherfane Rutherford and Krish Bhagat left out of the team.
Ryan Rickelton’s century goes in vain
Batting first, the opening pair, Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks, got off to a fiery start and scored 78 runs in the powerplay and looked dangerous. Jacks, who looked in good touch, missed out on a well-deserved half-century when he was dismissed for 46 runs. However, Rickelton continued his incredible touch in the match.
The Proteas batsman brought up his half-century in just 23 balls. He struck at a blistering pace and scored his first IPL century in 44 balls, which was also the fastest century by an MI batsman, surpassing the joint record of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilak Varma. Suryakumar Yadav failed again and Naman Dhir also did not bother the players.
Pandya scored a good 31 off 15 balls and gave good support to the left-hander, and then Tilak’s small cameo of 7 runs in 5 balls and Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten knock helped MI surpass the 220-run mark and they finished with a score of 243/5 in the 20 overs.
Pat Cummins’ team chases 244 with ease
The team’s opening duo of Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, went on a rampage from the first over and scored 92 runs in the powerplay. They both looked phenomenal; the former missed a fifty as he was dismissed for 45 runs, and Head continued his killing spree, scoring 76 runs in 30 balls.
A few wickets in the middle made it look like Mumbai would get back into the match, but then came the in-form Heinrich Klaasen, who hit brilliantly in the middle and finished the match with an unbeaten 65 runs. Salil Arora scored 30 off 10 balls.
So credit to the coaching staff: Pat Cummins.
Pat Cummins, after the win, said: “I always thought it was tough to start, but knowing our batting line-up and obviously very good pitching, I definitely thought it was within our reach. Some things had to go right, but I thought it was possible to chase it. (That opening combo of yours, has the fear completely disappeared from your lives?)”
“I hope so. You know, you see when the pitch is good, the way they play, they have so many different shots. So I mean, I’m glad I’m not bowling against them. They look pretty scary. (What do you think of all these young guys coming forward?)
Pat Cummins is amazed by Salil Arora’s batting: “It’s super impressive. Salil (Arora) doesn’t have much of a chance yet this season, but he really impressed in pre-season. They all have that fearless attitude.”
“So you have to give credit to the coaching staff as well for instilling that in these youngsters. I don’t think they realize how good they are, 200 used to be a bit elusive 5 years ago. Now even 240 is chaseable. Eshan has been one of the main reasons why we have been winning the games. We will continue to hang in there,” Pat Cummins finally concluded.
Also Read: IPL 2026 Points Table: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After MI vs SRH Match 41