Mumbai: Mumbai Indians overcame late drama to notch their third win of IPL 2025, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in a pulsating Match 33 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 163, the hosts reached 166/6 in 18.1 overs, thanks to blistering cameos and a reverse-swept boundary from Tilak Varma to finish the job.
Having opted to bowl first, MI found themselves on the back foot early as SRH raced to 59 for no loss. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a fluent 40 off 28 balls before Hardik Pandya broke the stand. From there, SRH’s momentum stuttered despite Travis Head’s gritty 28 and Nitish Reddy’s brief resistance. Will Jacks turned the screws in the middle overs with a double strike, dismissing Head and Ishan Kishan.
SRH were struggling at 113/4 until Heinrich Klaasen hammered 22 off one Deepak Chahar over, lifting them past 140. But it was the 26 runs off the final nine deliveries – including two sixes from Aniket Verma and one from skipper Pat Cummins – that gave SRH a competitive 162/5. Jasprit Bumrah (1/21) and Jacks (2/14) were the standouts with the ball.
In reply, Mumbai’s start was typically aggressive. Ryan Rickelton (31 off 23) set the early pace with four boundaries off Eshan Malinga in the sixth over, but fell soon after to Harshal Patel. Rohit Sharma looked in sublime touch, smoking three sixes – including a signature pull off Mohammad Shami – before falling to a mistimed drive straight to Head at cover.
Jacks (36 off 26) and Suryakumar Yadav (26 off 15) kept the innings on course with an exhibition of fearless strokeplay. SKY delighted the spectators with two sixes, including a slog sweep and a scoop, but perished attempting to finish the game early. Jacks too fell to Pat Cummins in a bid to accelerate.
The late chase took a dramatic turn when Hardik Pandya (21 off 9), after clubbing two fours and a six, holed out at deep midwicket off Malinga in the 18th over.
Naman Dhir followed two balls later in bizarre fashion – adjudged LBW, he reviewed the decision but was already walking back before the third umpire confirmed three reds, leaving spectators confused and booing. Even Mitchell Santner, sent in next, was briefly stopped from taking guard as the umpire awaited review confirmation.
Despite the chaos, Tilak Varma held his nerve. With one needed, he reverse-swept Zeeshan Ansari past short third for four, sealing victory with 11 balls to spare. He remained unbeaten on 21 off 17.
Cummins (3/26) was Hyderabad’s best bowler and nearly turned the tide single-handedly. Malinga also picked two wickets late but couldn’t prevent MI from registering their second consecutive win.
With this win, MI now move to three wins from seven games, keeping their playoff hopes flickering. SRH, meanwhile, will rue letting MI off the hook in the final overs.
Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 162/5 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 40, Klaasen 37; Jacks 2/14, Bumrah 1/21);
Mumbai Indians: 166/6 in 18.1 overs (Will Jacks 36, Rickelton 31, SKY 26; Cummins 3/26, Eshan Malinga 2/36); Result: Mumbai Indians won by 4 wickets
