Hyderabad, Apr 23 (UNI) Heinrich Klaasen's enterprising 71 and Abhinav Manohar's spirited 43 were the only bright spots in a stuttering Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) innings that was rocked by Trent Boult’s incisive four-wicket haul, culminating in a modest total of 143 for 8 against Mumbai Indians at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.
Mumbai, having opted to bowl first after winning the toss, seized the advantage early through Boult's firepower. The left-armer struck in the second over, removing Travis Head (0) with a delivery that shaped away and found the toe-end of the bat, caught brilliantly by Naman Dhir at deep point. He returned to send back Abhishek Sharma (8), who mistimed a drive to Vignesh Puthur at point, and later added the wickets of Abhinav and Pat Cummins in a dramatic final over.
Boult's fourth wicket – Cummins bowled for 1 – came as the SRH skipper attempted a cheeky scoop but missed a full and fast delivery that cannoned into middle stump. Earlier in the same over, Abhinav was dismissed in bizarre fashion, hitting his own wicket while attempting to go over the covers, ending a gritty 37-ball innings that featured three sixes and two boundaries.
The innings had earlier threatened to collapse entirely after Deepak Chahar (4-0-12-2) removed Ishan Kishan (1) and Nitish Reddy (2) in successive overs, reducing SRH to 13 for 4 inside five overs. Kishan's dismissal, in particular, caused confusion — given out caught behind despite no bat involved, based on a delayed and curious umpiring call.
Klaasen, unfazed by the top-order wreckage, launched a spirited counterattack. He brought up his 50 in the 14th over with a wristy flick off Boult and continued to take on Jasprit Bumrah and Vignesh Puthur with a flurry of innovative strokes. His audacious reverse hit for six off Bumrah and forehand smashes off Hardik Pandya drew roars from the fans. However, he perished on 71 (44 balls, 9x4, 2x6) trying to swipe a full-toss off Bumrah, caught by Tilak Varma — a dismissal that marked Bumrah’s 300th T20 wicket.
Hardik (3-0-31-1) chipped in by removing Aniket Verma (12), after testing him with bouncers. Mitchell Santner bowled a miserly spell of 4-0-19-0 while Vignesh's only over was taken for 15 runs as Klaasen went on the offensive.
SRH managed only 24 runs in the Powerplay and never recovered to a commanding position despite the 99-run stand between Klaasen and Abhinav. With Boult's 4 for 26 capping a fine bowling effort, Mumbai now need 144 runs to secure their sixth win of the season.
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