Despite a batting failure, Alzarri Joseph's sensational six-wicket haul guided Mumbai Indians to a massive 40-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League (IPL) contest here on Saturday.
Joseph (6/12), the 22-year-old Caribbean, not only helped Mumbai win, but he also rewrote the record books after registering the best ever bowling figure in the league's history.
Defending a paltry total of 137, debutant Joseph was the key architect behind Mumbai's exceptional win as the pacer shattered the Hyderabad batting line-up which fell like a pack of cards.
The other Mumbai bowlers -- Rahul Chahar (2/21), Jasprit Bumrah (1/16) and Jason Behrendorff (1/28) -- also impressed with some economical spells.
Chasing the target, the hosts got off to a decent start with their scorecard reading 27 for no loss in the initial three overs. However, Rahul Chahar started the proceedings for Mumbai after bagging the wicket of Jonny Bairstow (16 off 10) before David Warner (15 off 13) became a victim of Joseph with just just 33 runs on board.
Joseph then packed back Vijay Shankar (5 off 10) while Behrendorff accounted for the wicket of Manish Pandey (16 off 21), putting the hosts in deep trouble.
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Chahar made the situation worse for Hyderabad when he dismissed incoming batsman Yusuf Pathan, who departed without scoring, leaving the hosts reeling at 62/5.
With half of the Hyderabad side back in the dug out, Deepak Hooda tried to put things back in control with his 24-ball 20. However, he couldn't succeed as Joseph sent him back before the picking up the wicket of Rashid Khan, who failed to open his account.
With Hyderabad's score reading 88/7, Joseph utilised the opportunity to rock the hosts' lower order as he dismissed Mohammad Nabi (11), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2) and Siddarth Kaul (0) in quick succession to help Mumbai register an emphatic victory.
Earlier, some disciplined bowling by Hyderabad helped restrict Mumbai to a modest 136/7.
Mumbai kept on losing wickets at regular intervals as the Hyderabad bowlers not only kept on jolting the visitors, but also maintained a decent economy.
It was Kieron Pollard (46* off 26, 4x2, 6x4) who once again showed some resistance down the order to propel his team past the 100-run mark.
Put into bat, Mumbai started slowly before Mohammad Nabi drew the first blood by dismissing visiting skipper Rohit Sharma for 11. Sandeep Sharma soon delivered another blow by trapping Suryakumar Yadav plumb in front of the wicket.
With Mumbai reeling at 28/2, Quinton de Kock (19 off 18) and Ishan Kishan (17 off 21) tried to stabilise the innings. However, the two couldn't taste much success as de Kock was sent back by Kaul in the ninth over with the scoreboard reading 43/3.
Ishan and Krunal Pandya then added 20 runs in the next 2.2 overs before Kaul cut short Krunal's stay. The Mumbai all-rounder top-edged a short delivery that landed safely in the hands of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.
Mumbai suffered another blow soon when Ishan was caught short of the crease while trying to steal a quick single.
The hosts kept on picking wickets in quick succession as Hardik Pandya (14) and Chahar (10) too departed soon with just 97 runs on board. However, Pollard's heroics in the last few overs helped the three-time champions reach a modest total.
For Hyderabad, Kaul scalped two wickets while Bhuvneshwar, Sandeep Sharma, Rashid and Mohammad Nabi picked up one wicket each.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians: 136/7 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 46 not out, Quinton de Kock 19; Siddharth Kaul 2/34) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 96 all out in 17.4 overs (Deepak Hooda 20, Jonny Bairstow 16; Alzarri Joseph 6/12) by 40 runs.
--IANS
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