MUMBAI: Only time will tell what this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be better known for but early trends suggest catches being spilled will be one among them. Catches win matches, says an old adage but the contesting teams seemingly have not paid heed to the same.
Thursday was no different as Mumbai Indians were sloppy on the field dropping as many as two catches in the very first over. The dangerous opening pair of Sunrisers Hyderabad got a reprieve as pacer Deepak Chahar could not believe his luck. Abhishek Sharma edged the first ball of the innings but Will Jacks couldn't latch onto a catch that went above his head for four. Then Travis Head slammed it straight to Karn Sharma at mid-wicket but that too was grassed.
Most of the times, such reprieves to Travishek, as they are fondly known these days, could have cost the teams dear but not on Thursday. The duo, who have the ability to rip apart any bowling attack on their day, looked rusty and failed to connect on most occasions thanks a sluggish surface.
Abhishek still managed 28-ball 40 with seven fours but Head never got going. Known for his big hits, the Aussie left-hand batter was not able to middle the ball. It was not a pleasing sight to watch a struggling Head and the irony finally ended when Mitchell Santner caught him at long off off Jacks. SRH were 82/3 after 11.1 at that point in time — quite unlike their reputation.
As has been the case since they first came together last season, the failure of their opening pair meant Hyderabad were restricted to a below-par total by the hosts.
Had it not been for Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 37 off 28 that included three fours and two sixes, and the last over bowled by Pandya, the Hyderabad franchise may not have crossed the 150-run mark. The South African took down Chahar in his last over, 18th of the innings, hitting him for two sixes and as many fours. Overall that over from Chahar yielded 21 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah then bowled Klaasen through the gate to wrest back the control in the next over. Only five runs could be collected from that penultimate over as Bumrah finished his quota of overs with impressive figures of 1/21.
Aniket Verma, who gained recognition with his 41-ball 74 against Delhi Capitals earlier in the league, then launched MI skipper for two straight sixes followed by a maximum from SRH captain Pat Cummins as Hyderabad posted 162/5 in 20 overs. Pandya gave away 22 runs from his and innings' last over, which also turned out to be the costliest of the first innings.
Chasing a modest target, Mumbai's task was made easier by Hyderabad fielders as they returned the favour by giving Jacks a life early in his innings. The English all-rounder slapped a length ball from Mohammed Shami in front of point. It went to Head's left at cover, who let the ball slip through his hands. The early let off meant Mumbai added 55/1 in the powerplay.
Uttar Pradesh's leg break bowler Zeeshan Ansari almost got the wicket of Ryan Rickelton soon after the break but the delivery was adjudged a no ball as wicketkeeper Klaasen's gloves were in front of the stumps at the point of contact of bat and ball. The catch was caught by Cummins but the third umpire correctly signalled a no ball.
Rickelton, however, could not make use of it as he got out in the next over bowled by Harshal Patel. But Jacks capitalised on the chance given to him as he and Suryakumar Yadav accelerated to punish the hapless Hyderabad bowling attack. They added 52 off just 29 balls before Yadav departed but by then the damage had already been done.