Mumbai survive Pandey-Nabi scare to seal playoff qualification
Mumbai Indians 162 for 5 (de Kock 69*, Khaleel 3-42) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 162 for 6 (Pandey 71*, Nabi 31, Krunal 2-20) via the Super Over
Super Over Mumbai Indians 9 for 0 (Hardik 7*, Pollard 2*) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 8 (Nabi 6, Pandey 1, Guptill 1*, Bumrah 2-8)
Mumbai Indians beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Super Over after the teams had tied with 162 each, with a Hardik Pandya six helping them chase the required nine runs with three balls to spare. The win put Mumbai in the playoffs alongside Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.
Manish Pandey and Mohammad Nabi, whose partnership had brought back the Sunrisers into the game, could only last four balls in the Super Over. Pandey was run out first ball before Nabi, having struck Jasprit Bumrah for a top-edged six, was clean bowled.
The match ended in the Super Over after Manish Pandey slammed a six off the last ball of the match in regulation time. With 17 needed off the final over, Mohammad Nabi hit Hardik for a six over long-on, off the third ball, before falling off the next ball. Pandey then ran hard for two runs off the fifth ball, before sending Pandya over wide long-on for a last-ball six to level the scores.
Earlier, Mumbai had reached 162 for 5 on the back of Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 69 that came off 58 balls, containing six fours and two sixes. None of the other Mumbai batsmen could take cues from de Kock, as they struggled against Sunrisers' accurate bowling.
Khaleel's timely blows
Left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed ensured Mumbai didn't stretch their fast scoring for too long, on three crucial ocassions. After Rohit Sharma got Mumbai off to a sound start with five fours, Khaleel's slower ball duped him into slicing one to mid-on. It cut short the opening stand to 36 runs.
Khaleel then removed Suryakumar Yadav after he had added 54 runs for the second wicket with de Kock, as the two batsmen looked primed to taking Mumbai to a bigger score. Then Khaleel began the final over by forcing Kieron Pollard to top edge a slower length ball, to be caught at square-leg. Khaleel was helped by good catching from the Sunrisers' outfielders, but it was an assured performance from the youngster.
Mumbai rely on de Kock
De Kock remained unbeaten on 69, although with more support he could have put Mumbai onto a bigger score. Much of it was expected when he was batting with Suryakumar, but Mumbai have two of the best big-hitters in the business. However, de Kock had to take over the hitting in the last five overs as both Hardik and Pollard had fallen cheaply.
Krunal and Bumrah cut down Sunrisers' scoring
Martin Guptill, who replaced David Warner, and Wriddhiman Saha sprung to a fast start but the latter fell to Jasprit Bumrah's slower delivery in the fourth over, caught at point, just as the Sunrisers were gaining momentum. Bumrah then removed Guptill in his next over, and although the New Zealander reviewed the lbw decision, replays showed that the ball was hitting leg stump. Although the Sunrisers' 59 for 2 was better than Mumbai's score at the end of the Powerplay, Bumrah's removal of the openers chipped away at their run-rate.
Krunal Pandya then had Williamson, after reviewing successfully for an lbw in the eighth over, before Vijay Shankar was caught at long-on to reduce the Sunrisers to 98 for 4 in the 14th over.
Pandey keeps Sunrisers alive
Everything rested on Manish Pandey, who had been the Sunrisers' set batsman at the crease. After Abhishek Sharma was caught behind off Hardik, Mumbai held back the Sunrisers for the following 15 balls, conceding just 17 runs. Finally at the end of the 18th over, Mohammad Nabi swung Lasith Malinga for a six over point.
Bumrah bowled four good balls in the penultimate over before Pandey struck him for two fours to bring down the required runs to 17 off the last over. Pandey took the Sunrisers into the Super Over but couldn't quite do the job a second time.