SRH VS MI MATCH 8

Phew! It was a spectacle like no other in Hyderabad, and the crowd certainly got their money's worth, more importantly with Pat Cummins's brigade emerging victorious. Next up on Thursday, the 28th of March, Rajasthan will be in action as Sanju Samson and Co. take on Rishabh Pant's Delhi. Rajasthan will look to make it two wins out of two, while Delhi will be on the hunt for their first win of the season. The game will commence at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as always, our build-up will begin much sooner. See you then. Cheers!

Abhishek Sharma is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his scintillating display of batting, scoring 63 runs off 23 balls. He begins by saying that he got a lot of confidence from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He says that the message is clear to keep going and express yourself. Adds that he was pretty clear in his head to just hit and punish the poor deliveries. He thinks that he finally got a perfect batting position at number 3 and states he is trying to express himself in every game. On being asked about his bowling, he says he rather bowls in the nets more than the batting. Ends up by saying that it was overall a good performance by the boys.

Hyderabad's captain Pat Cummins starts by saying that it was an insane game. Mentions that it felt like they were finding boundaries whenever they wanted and it was good to finish on the winning side. Feels that in the Indian T20 League, they have played in front of big crowds and to see Abhishek Sharma play with freedom was good to watch. Shares that they wanted to play positively with the option of Impact player available and score aggressively. States that the cutters helped in the last phase. Ends by saying that the crowd was very loud and it was amazing.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Travis Head is in for a flash interview. He says that it's a good feeling and adds it's a powerful group and he enjoyed it overall. He adds they wanted to go aggressive likewise the previous game and with someone like Klaasen in the side, it's a great luxury. States that he was pleased to play shots all across the ground. Mentions that Mumbai too, has the requisite firepower in the batting but he feels that 277 was way too much on the board in the end.

The skipper of Mumbai, Hardik Pandya says that the wicket was good but doesn't matter how good the wicket is, 277 is something to appreciate the opposition. Adds it was tough for the bowlers and says in hindsight they have got a young bowling line up. Adds they could have been more precise in executing their plans. Appreciates the batters and says that everyone looked good with the bat and states they just need to get a few things correct here and there. Says it was a great opportunity for the young Kwena Maphaka and adds that he has got a big heart, but he just needs some more game time to unleash his talent.

Earlier in the game, it was Hardik Pandya who called it right and inserted Hyderabad into bat. What followed was something Hardik Pandya and Co. would not have envisaged in the wildest of their dreams. Having been dropped on 5, Travis Head set out on a leather hunt and made Mumbai pay dearly for it. Abhishek Sharma joined the party and broke Head's record 18-ball fastest fifty by a Hyderabad batter, getting there in just 16 balls. After the two southpaws were dismissed in their 60s, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen joined hands, with the latter picking up where he left off in the last game. Klaasen was the aggressor of the two batters and unleashed a real assault on the Mumbai bowlers. His 34-ball 80 was laced with as many as 7 sixes, and his 116-run unbeaten stand with Markram took Hyderabad to 277, the highest-ever Indian T20 League total. On a night when the rest of the Mumbai bowlers went for more than 11 runs per over, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, going for just 36 runs from his four overs.

The heads would have dropped at the halfway mark, having conceded the highest-ever Indian T20 League total but a champion side like Mumbai did not back down and made a good fist of a mammoth run chase. The openers, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan came out firing and although their stay was short-lived, they had set the tone. Coming in at number 4, Tilak Varma forged an 84-run stand with Naman Dhir and ensured that the Mumbai innings did not lose steam. Despite the departure of Dhir, Varma carried on his merry way and soon got to his fifty. His dismissal came at an inopportune time and the woes for Mumbai started to compound from thereon. The boundaries became hard to come by and the required run rate kept rising. Tim David hit a few lusty blows with Hardik Pandya for company but in the end, it proved to be a mountain too steep to climb.

Despite the kind of total they had on the board, Hyderabad were unable to translate that momentum into their bowling effort. They were a bit wayward with their lines and lengths with the new ball and were taken to the cleaners by the Mumbai openers. Despite seeing the back of them in successive overs, Hyderabad failed to build on those twin scalps. Tilak Varma, in particular, threatened to take the game away from them, but the second strategic break which was taken by Mumbai, came at just the right time for the hosts. They were able to reassess their plans and resorted to taking the pace off and bowling it into the wicket to reap the rewards. Pat Cummins started it all by removing Varma, and Jaydev Unadkat and Bhuvenshwar Kumar continued from there to keep things quiet. Hyderabad never looked back since and tightened the screws to seal the deal to get their first points on the board.

What an incredible game we witnessed! Records tumbled left, right, and centre, but in the end, it was Hyderabad who clinched a remarkable victory in this absolute run fest. With this win, the streak of home teams winning their games in this year's Indian T20 League has extended to 8 matches. Coming to a couple of the records that were broken, as many as 38 sixes were hit and a total of 523 runs were scored, the most in a T20 game anywhere in the world.

Done and dusted! What a sensational and historic record-breaking game of cricket we have had! An absolute marvel at Hyderabad but it's the team in Orange and Black who convincingly win this game by 31 runs. They open their account on the Points Table with this win. Wide of off, on a short length, Romario Shepherd throws his bat at it and gets beaten. An evening filled with absolute run fest concludes.

FOUR! In the gap and into the fence. Leg-break on a length outside off, Romario Shepherd cuts it well through cover-point for a boundary.

FOUR! Slapped down the ground! Full, outside off, Romario Shepherd gets low and gets underneath the ball before slapping it down the ground for a boundary.

Length delivery, turning away from outside off, Romario Shepherd goes for a wild swing and misses.

SIX! Romario Shepherd having some fun out there! Slower, outside off, and on a length, Romario Shepherd waits for it and thumps it over long on for a maximum. Six number 38. Most number of sixes hit in a T20 game anywhere in the world, across the oceans.

Dragged length with a leg-break, outside off, Tim David slaps it hard to long off for a single.

Shade shorter in length, on off, Tim David pulls it through square leg for a single. 47 needed off the last 6 deliveries. Just a formality now to complete this contest.

In the air...lands safely. Short and outside off, Tim David swings hard at it but ends up slicing it. The ball balloons up in the night sky and lands somewhere ahead of deep mid-wicket. Two taken.