243! Mumbai Indians had 243 runs on the board in a bid to snap out of their horrible patch of form in the Indian Premier League. But that was simply not enough as a red-hot Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded the fourth-highest chase in the history of the tournament, handing Hardik Pandya’s side their sixth loss this season.
Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) and Travis Head (76 off 30) got SRH off to a rollicking start, adding 129 runs for the first wicket. But the hero, the real hero of the chase, was Heinrich Klaasen, who played his best innings of the season, guiding the team to one of their most dominant batting performances of the season.
This game was evidence of the monumental evolution that has taken place in the SRH team over the last two seasons. SRH were not a good chasing side in 2024, when they reached the final of the IPL. In 2025, the issue compounded, forcing the team out of the playoff places.
They recognised the issue, made a simple fix, and locked the No. 4 spot for Klaasen in 2026. The right-hander struggled in a couple of games at the start, but since then has been raking up runs at will this season.
Klaasen hit his peak in the IPL last season, scoring 487 runs in 14 games. He has already crossed the 400-run mark in IPL 2026, and that too in only 9 games.
MI vs SRH, IPL 2026: Highlights | Scorecard
Klaasen came out to bat in the ninth over, when SRH had lost back-to-back wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. He stood at the crease and guided the team’s chase in clinical fashion. Instead of overhitting the ball, he targeted the gaps, finishing the game with 7 fours and 4 sixes.
Klaasen’s composure, mixed with young Salil Arora’s rapid 30* off 10 balls, helped SRH seal the game, once again proving how wrong the experts were about the team’s potential at the start of the season.
MI vs SRH: RICKELTON’S CENTURY GOES IN VAIN
The first innings of the game mirrored the see-sawing momentum of the chase. Mumbai Indians, who were desperate to make a comeback in this game, tried another new pairing at the top. Will Jacks, returning from his holiday, was paired with Ryan Rickelton, who replaced his South African compatriot Quinton de Kock.
Rickelton had begun his IPL 2026 campaign with a lovely innings of 81 runs against KKR, but ended up fizzling out later. Returning to form, the left-hander found the perfect support in Jacks, who raced to 46 runs off just 22 balls. The Englishman continued his exceptional touch from the T20 World Cup, albeit in a position that was not familiar to him.
Rickelton and Jacks added 93 runs in the first 7 overs. After scoring 78 in the powerplay, the duo put Harsh Dubey to the sword, taking 15 off the spinner’s over, which was supposed to calm things down for SRH.
Out of ideas, Pat Cummins turned to Nitish Reddy in the eighth over. The medium-pacer amped his pace up into the 140s to edge Jacks behind the stumps. Jacks’ dismissal brought vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav to the crease. But the batter’s stay was cut short by Eshan Malinga, as a sharp short ball caught Suryakumar in two minds. The right-hander was late on his shot, ending up getting caught at fine leg.
With two wickets in a space of 9 balls, SRH hoped to make a comeback into the game. But Ryan Rickelton had different plans.
Given a lease of life by the franchise, Rickelton went on an absolute rampage, with Naman Dhir simply rotating strike at the other end.
Apart from one Eshan Malinga over in the 13th, Mumbai absolutely dominated the middle overs, raking up over 200 runs in 16 overs. Just when it looked like Mumbai would most definitely cross 250 runs, the Pat Cummins-led SRH bowling attack conceded just 41 runs at the death, handing SRH the momentum going into the chase.
With the win, SRH regained third place in the Indian Premier League table. They have now won five matches in a row and are looking like one of the early favourites to qualify for the playoffs this season.
More to follow…
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