De Kock shines as Mumbai gain playoff berth
The Mumbai Indians secured a playoff berth in the ongoing Indian Premier League after a Super Over victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Full ScorecardMumbai reached the nine runs required in the one-over decider with three balls to spare. The outcome pushed Mumbai from third to second position in the 2019 tournament's six-team standings.
Hyderabad remained fourth - and are still in contention for the next stage of the competition. The Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have already qualified for the playoffs.
Earlier, Proteas opening batsman Quinton de Kock spearheaded Mumbai to 162 for five after captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first.
De Kock's innings was not characteristically free-flowing, but largely succeeded in conditions difficult for batting. His stay was particularly important in the wake of captain Rohit Sharma's early departure.
With this win at the Wankhede, the @mipaltan have now qualified for the #VIVOIPL Playoffs ?????? pic.twitter.com/2KruVjPKMt
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2019
The South African left-hander shared partnerships with batsmen three through seven, assuming the anchor and aggressor roles throughout.Jasprit Bumrah is the Man of the Match for his phenomenal bowling tonight ???? pic.twitter.com/wkrkFW8Ajm
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2019
He eventually ended on 69 not out from 58 deliveries, which featured a sextet of fours and pair of sixes. The tally, too, pushed De Kock into the top five of this IPL season's leading run-scorers.
A disciplined bowling and fielding effort from Hyderabad was especially key in limiting the big-hitting Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard. The pair shared 28 from 19.
Hyderabad's pursuit lacked impetus from a top order minus the services of opening batsman David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, who have returned to Australia and England, respectively, to prepare for the 2019 World Cup.
Middle-order kingpin Manish Pandey gathered a near standalone half-century - and enjoyed solid support from Afghanistan star Mohammad Nabi. With six required off the last ball of the innings to tie the totals, Pandey duly obliged by heaving a length ball from seamer Pandya over the long-on boundary.
The Sunrisers won the IPL in 2016 - and lost last year's final to Chennai. Mumbai took the title in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Friday will see the Kings XI Punjab host the Knight Riders in Chandigarh.
MUMBAI INDIANS: Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma (captain), Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Barinder Sran, Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Martin Guptill, Whriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Kane Williamson (captain), Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi.
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