Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowled tactically to beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in a mouth-watering high-scoring match on Wednesday night. The six-fest at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium ended with only 31 runs separating the two teams. MI lost pace as the chase progressed, and Sunrisers’ smart bowling techniques earned them their first IPL points of 2024. Tasked to chase down the all-time highest total in IPL’s history, five-time winners MI made an impressive start with Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma adding 56 runs in just 3 overs.

Shahbaz Ahmed came into the attack and scalped the crucial wicket of Kishan (34) while skipper Pat Cummins won his battle against Rohit (26) in the next over. Leading MI’s fightback, Tilak Varma smashed 64 off 34 balls. Tilak dominated the middle overs alongside Naman Dhir, who played a fine cameo of 14-ball 30.

MI captain Hardik Pandya struggled to find the boundaries while Tim David arrived at the gathering late. But the asking rate was a little too much for MI. Despite the carnage, Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat excelled with the ball for SRH, each taking two wickets. Tilak’s entertaining knock went in vain as MI mustered 246-5 in 20 overs.

Earlier, debutant Kwena Maphaka opened the bowling attack for MI, and SRH opener Travis Head welcomed the 17-year-old by smashing 22 runs in his second over. Pandya replaced the young pacer and managed to dismiss Mayank Agarwal (11). Head’s record for the quickest half-century by an SRH batter lasted only 20 balls as Abhishek Sharma smoked a 16-ball 50 to lay the groundwork for a record-breaking total in the high-scoring contest. In a match where India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah failed to spark MI’s comeback, in-form Heinrich Klaasen hit a blinder with a 34-ball 80, propelling SRH to 277-3 in 20 overs.