Hyderabad, April 23 (NationPress) A stunning 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Heinrich Klaasen and Abhinav Manohar following a dire start of 13/4 propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to a total of 143/8 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians in Match 41 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

After being invited to bat first, SRH faced immediate trouble. Right from the first over, Abhishek Sharma narrowly escaped dismissal. Deepak Chahar, swinging the ball dramatically, induced a mishit drive, only for the catch to be dropped off a low full toss. This set a poor tone for SRH's beginning.

Trent Boult struck with his second delivery, sending Travis Head back for a duck after a deceptive outswinger led to a catch at deep backward point by Naman Dhir. This early wicket destabilized SRH, and the team continued to lose wickets rapidly.

Ishan Kishan (1), promoted in the batting order, fell victim to a leg-side strangle off Chahar. Despite UltraEdge showing no spike, Kishan departed voluntarily after sensing a faint edge, leaving his team in a precarious position at 2 for 2. His exit gave MI early dominance, and they pressed on.

Abhishek Sharma’s (8) fragile innings ended swiftly as Boult’s clever knuckleball deceived him, resulting in a simple catch to point. Consequently, SRH found themselves at 13 for 3 within just 3.3 overs.

The collapse persisted in the fifth over when Nitish Reddy (2) misplayed a full delivery from Chahar, lobbing it straight to Mitchell Santner at mid-on. By the end of the powerplay, SRH staggered at 24 for 4 — marking the lowest powerplay score of IPL 2025.

The horror show continued as Aniket Verma (12), SRH’s Impact Player, struggled to score and eventually fell attempting to pull a slower bouncer from Hardik Pandya. With that, SRH plummeted to 35 for 5 by the ninth over.

However, just as it seemed that SRH might not reach even 49 — their infamous lowest score from 2016 — Klaasen began to take charge. A series of half-trackers from Vignesh Puthur in the 10th over allowed him to gather 15 runs. Klaasen executed a series of well-timed boundaries, rotating the strike efficiently and initiating a comeback.

In the subsequent overs, Klaasen demonstrated his class, amassing 31 runs in the 10th and 11th overs by capitalising on minor errors from MI's bowlers. One of his remarkable shots was a superb checked drive through covers off Hardik Pandya, showcasing his calmness under pressure.

While Klaasen kept the scoreboard moving, Manohar struggled at the other end, managing just 10 off 16 by the 14-over mark. MI spinners, particularly Mitchell Santner, bowled with discipline, varying pace and seam angles. On a somewhat dry pitch, SRH’s inability to rotate the strike and lack of aggression against spin kept them on the back foot.

By the 15th over, SRH had reached 90 for 5, largely due to Klaasen’s efforts. He played cautiously, attacking only loose deliveries, reflecting both his maturity and SRH’s urgency to conserve wickets. Sensing that Klaasen was SRH’s best chance to set a competitive score, MI decided to remove the expensive Vignesh Puthur after just one over.

As the final overs approached, SRH began to find their rhythm. In the 17th and 18th overs, bowled by Bumrah and Hardik, SRH struck boundaries, with Manohar particularly breaking the shackles with two well-timed fours and a six, providing the innings with some late momentum. Klaasen continued to find gaps, rotating the strike smartly.

Earlier, MI bowlers had dominated the power-play, but Klaasen’s calculated aggression and Manohar’s late efforts ensured that SRH aimed for a respectable total heading into the final two overs. Whether it will suffice remains to be seen.

Jasprit Bumrah, despite an unusually expensive outing, celebrated a milestone moment with his 300th T20 wicket. In the penultimate over, Bumrah bowled four full tosses, a rare slip from the usually reliable bowler.

However, it was one of those full-tosses that resulted in the prized scalp of Klaasen, who had just reverse-scooped the previous ball for an outrageous six over short third man. On this occasion, Klaasen swung hard to the leg side but found the fielder at deep backward square leg. His dismissal concluded a remarkable individual effort — a stellar 71 off 44 balls.

Trent Boult clinched two wickets in the final over–overall four, including the dismissal of Abhinav Manohar, who compiled a solid 43 off 37 balls.

In a rare and unusual hit-wicket dismissal, Boult delivered a yorker that completely beat Manohar, but the batter, standing unusually far back in his crease, had knocked the bails off with his bat while attempting to chop the ball down. Consequently, even before the yorker could rattle the stumps, Manohar was declared out.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 143/8 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 71, Abhinav Manohar 43; Trent Boult 4-26, Deepak Chahar 2/12) against Mumbai Indians.