Rohit Sharma in disbelief; Akash and Nita Ambani shellshocked after Travishek storm turns MI’s night into nightmare

When Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium, he insisted that dew would not be a factor in the second innings. Ryan Rickelton vindicated that decision with a record-breaking unbeaten 123, the highest individual score by a Mumbai Indians batter. That 55-ball knock powered the home team to 243 for five in 20 overs.

Smiles were all around the Mumbai Indians dugout. The owners, Nita and her son Akash Ambani, were ecstatic at the sight. Mumbai had finally put on a collective batting show that had long eluded them this season.

A win seemed inevitable for Mumbai, with the crucial two points likely to breathe life back into their campaign after a string of defeats left them ninth in the points table. But all the euphoria soon descended into sheer disappointment, and later into heartbreak, as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down 244 with eight balls to spare.

ALSO READ: IPL dressing room privacy row explodes amid Riyan Parag vaping clip; captains had flagged issue to BCCI: Report

At the heart of the mammoth chase in Mumbai, where dew indeed played a factor in the second innings, was the Travishek storm. After a quiet first half of the IPL season, Travis Head finally announced his arrival with a 76-run knock off just 30 balls, during which he forged a 129-run stand alongside opening partner Abhishek Sharma.

Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah were both taken apart as the pair raced to fifty in just 25 balls and ended the powerplay with 92 runs, precisely 14 more than what Mumbai had managed in the first innings. The assault spilled into the seventh over, when Head charged at Ashwani Kumar, smashing him for 6, 6, 4 in consecutive deliveries.

As the camera panned towards the MI camp during the onslaught in the seventh over, Akash and Nita left shellshocked, while Rohit Sharma was in disbelief. It was a stark reality check for the owners as Head and Abhishek tore into the Mumbai attack, leaving the home side completely devoid of answers. The reaction felt inevitable as the game began slipping rapidly out of their grasp.

Sunrisers batters dominate MI

Sunrisers have now accounted for 20 of the 119 century stands for the opening wicket in IPL history; the next best is 16 each for CSK and RCB. Six of those belong to Head and Abhishek, the joint most by any opening pair in the IPL, alongside former SRH duo Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner.

The game had already slipped out of Mumbai's hands by then, with confirmation coming an hour later when Heinrich Klaasen and Salil Arora applied the finishing touches to wrap it up in 18.4 overs.

Mumbai did breathe a sigh of relief midway through the second innings when AM Ghazanfar removed Abhishek and Ishan Kishan in successive deliveries in the ninth over, before Hardik dismissed Head in the next. Mumbai had suddenly managed to shake things up and put the brakes on SRH's rampage. Since that over from Ashwani, Mumbai conceded just 19 runs in the next three overs.

But the respite was brief. Heinrich Klaasen revived the innings during his 80-run stand alongside Nitish Reddy, before wrapping up the chase with Arora, finishing unbeaten on 65 off 30 balls.

Despite the defeat, Mumbai will find solace in their batting finally clicking, with the return of Will Jacks and handy contributions from Naman Dhir, Hardik, and Tilak Varma. However, their bowling faltered, with Jasprit Bumrah conceding 54 runs in four overs without a wicket.

Click here to read article