Mumbai Indians roaring crowd of Wankhede Stadium witnessed an exciting contest in the late hours of Thursday.
Carried the day from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) whose spirits were low, finishing with four wickets on the safekeat of spirited all-round performance led by Will Jacks from England, explosion of batting cameos, and crafty bowling under pressure.
A match made in heaven, two specialities from Jacks impressively contributed to both bat and ball returning figures of 2 for 14 in 3 overs followed up with a crucial 36 off 26 balls. This was MI’s third victory from seven IPL 2025 matches; their second successive winning match gave birth to the budding hopes of reviving a mid-season turnaround.
Flying Start with Rohit and Rickelton
Chasing a target of 163, MI started very brightly, setting the house alight. Former captain Rohit Sharma rolled back the reign of time with 26 runs off 16 balls, including three massive maximums. Two of the three came in an over by Mohammed Shami including a trademark pull sending the ball deep into the stands behind square leg.
Ryan Rickelton, the dashing South African wicketkeeper batsman, looked sharp at the other end, scoring 31 off 23 balls with five boundaries. Together, the openers added brisk parts, setting the tone for their chase.
Both fell, however, while going for their adventurous shots- Rohit lofting a full toss from Pat Cummins to cover and Rickelton slicing Harshal Patel to backward point-but the damage had been done in terms of momentum for MI.
Middle Order Fireworks: Suryakumar and Jacks. Hardik and Thilak Deliver
This was followed by Suryakumar Yadav and Will Jacks taking on the SRH bowlers in a quick fire stand of 52 runs off 29 balls. Surya’s 26 came off just 15 balls with two boundaries and two sixes, while Jacks complemented him beautifully with his careful strokeplay.
The captain, Hardik Pandya, walked in needing 48 off 36 balls and played a brief but impactful knock—21 off 9 balls, with a six and three fours—before getting out to Cummins, who was SRH’s best bowler with 3 for 26 in four overs.
In the end, it was Tilak Varma (21* off 17 balls) who wrapped up the game with a classic paddle sweep for four in the 19th overs to extinguish any hopes for SRH. MI finished the chase with 10 balls to spare.
SRH Batters Struggle, Resurges Late
This was preceded with MI bowling first on Wankhede pitch that was slow. There was neither pace nor bounce; hence, it limited the usually aggressive SRH. Top-scorer opener Abhishek Sharma had a fluent 40 runs off 28 balls (with 7×4), but in the middle overs struggled to find rhythm.
The explosive pair, Abhishek and Travis Head, shared just 59 from 45 balls, opening partnership that failed to deliver much of a bang. Head carried a dogged 28 from 29 balls and survived a no-ball scare in the 10th over with his dismissal coming from the hands of Pandya when he overstepped.
Abhishek was dropped out off the first ball by Jacks at slip but he unfortunately could not convert the good start into a deep knock. MI started tightly with the bowl and with the slowness of the pitch, made the boundaries as well as the control of middle overs.
Will Jacks: Redemption and Domination
Will Jacks dropped Abhishek early on but made up for that slip with the ball. He bowled with control and confidence, including the wickets of Ishan Kishan (stumped by Rickelton) and Travis Head (caught at long-off), and he ended with a match-altering spell of two for 14.
Jacks’ performance has probably affected the match, as with it, MI enjoyed that bit of balance which they have often missed in the middle overs throughout this season.
SRH Late Surge Takes Score to 162
Though. SRH started slow, they ended strongly. Heinrich Klaasen (37 off 28) and Aniket Verma (18* off 8) blasted together 47 runs in the last 3 overs taking SRH from a below-par total to a much more respectable 162.
Klaasen took Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar to the cleaners, hammering two sixes and two boundaries in the 18th over alone. Verma administered the last coup de grace, smashing Hardik Pandya for two back-to-back sixes in the last over.
Their effort though proved much too little, much too late.
Injuries and Missed Opportunities
The match wasn’t without its drama. Much to the scare of the MI camp, skipper Hardik Pandya winced in pain after delivering a ball in the 8th over while clutching his left leg. Fortunately, he recovered quickly and even bowled the final over of the SRH innings.
Karn Sharma has been the hero of MI last game but has now left the field early after sustaining a bleeding injury to his hand while trying to stop a shot at mid-wicket. His absence necessitated MI economizing on Mitchell Santner—only one over—which may need further re-evaluation.
Meanwhile, Deepak Chahar went through a night to forget as he was hammered for 47 runs in 4 overs, and may soon find himself under the scanner.
Looking Ahead
This is another missed chance on the part of SRH. The loss further adds to their dismal record at Wankhede, which now stands at five from seven IPL encounters lost here. The two-wins-from-seven games have dropped their ranking in the points table and they will need to pull themselves together very soon.
Mumbai, on better hands, seems to be getting its rhythm. By meshing these young stars with seasoned campaigners, MI perhaps might be turning the corner in the IPL 2025.
Score summary:
SRH: 162/5 (Abhishek 40, Klaasen 37; Jacks 2/14)
MI: 166/6 in 18.2 overs (Jacks 36, Rickelton 31, Rohit 26; Cummins 3/26)
Result: MI won by 4 wickets.
