T20 2018: Rohit Sharma and Co handed fifth defeat in low-scoring game

Hyderabad's Rashid Khan (second from right) celebrates the wicket of Mumbai's Kieron Pollard with teammates at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pics/Suresh Karkera

Mumbai would have fancied their second win of the T20 2018 after restricting Hyderabad to a paltry 118 in 18.4 overs on a juicy Wankhede Stadium pitch yesterday.

However, Hyderabad boasting of the best bowling attack in the T20 2018, lived up to its top billing. Riding on the brilliance of leggie Rashid Khan (4-1-11-2), Hyderabad bowled out Mumbai for 87 in 18.5 overs as the hosts crashed to a 31-run defeat. The fifth loss is a huge setback for the defending champions' hopes of qualifying for the play-offs.

Suryakumar Yadav top scored for Mumbai with 34 yesterday

Poor Powerplays
If Hyderabad were 51-4 in their Powerplay overs, Mumbai were in a much worse situation at 22-3 from their first six overs - the lowest total in the Powerplay in this T20 2018.

The pitch did not lose its sheen throughout the game as it had plenty of assistance for the bowlers in both innings. Evin Lewis (5) was guilty of going into his shot early as the leading edge went straight to Manish Pandey at point. In the next over, Hyderabad had other Mumbai opener Ishan Kishan (0) back in the dugout after the southpaw holed out to substitute Deepak Hooda at long off off Mohammad Nabi.

Eight balls later, the visitors got the big wicket of Rohit Sharma (2) after the Mumbai skipper was beaten in the flight, only to edge it to Shikhar Dhawan at slips. However, the 40-run stand between Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya helped Mumbai claw back into the game. The Mumbai youngsters showed maturity and concentrated on rotating the strike.

Triple blow for Mumbai
Mumbai, however, lost the plot between overs 11 to 15 as they managed only 25 runs and lost three crucial wickets (Krunal, Kieron Pollard and Yadav). Krunal was dismissed leg-before for 24 via DRS off Rashid Khan. Pollard (9) was out in a similar fashion as Rohit off Rashid. Yadav (34) holed out to Rashid off Thampi at deep square leg. That Hardik took 19 balls for his three runs showed how the Mumbai batsmen struggled.

For the Mumbai bowlers, everything seemed to have fell well in place. Their dominance could be gauged from the fact that the first and only six of the match came in the 19th over. In the last four overs of the Hyderabad innings, the visitors could manage only 13 runs and lost three wickets.

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