Press Trust of India
Mumbai, April 25: A couple of days ago former Pakistan cricketer and presently in the panel IPL of commentators Rameez Raja had stated, “Malinga ka pet ho gaya hai, wo bowling kya dalega?,” (Malinga has now developed a tummy, so how will he bowl?). No one knows whether the comments had reached the Sri Lankan pacer. But Saturday ‘Slinga Malinga’ took it upon himself to destroy the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their IPL-VIII game against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium here.
Malinga (4/23) and Mitchell McClenaghan (3/20) came up with sterling performances as MI, after scoring 157 for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs, restricted SRH to 137 for eight to achieve a 20-run victory.
The Sunrisers lost their way after a brisk opening stand between left-handers Shikhar Dhawan (42, 29b, 7×4, 1×6) and David Warner (nine). But once Malinga had Warner caught in the deep by Rayudu, the SRH innings sort of lost its momentum.
Earlier, electing to bat, MI rode on opener Lendl Simmons’s 51 (42b, 6×4, 1×6) and some useful contributions from skipper Rohit Sharma (24, 15b, 2×4, 1×6) and West Indian Kieron Pollard (33,24b, 3×4, 1×6) to get past the 150-run mark.
The victory, which was only their second of the season in seven games, helped MI stay afloat in their quest to reach the play-offs. This was Sunrisers fourth defeat in six games.
At one stage SRH needed 54 runs off 31 balls. But they lost Ravi Bopara, Hanuma Vihari, Praveen Kumar and Steyn for the addition of just one run to the total, to lose the plot completely. From 126 for four, the Sunrisers were reduced to 127 for eight.
McClenaghan got the wicket of Bopara while the remaining three were sent back by an inspired Malinga in one over. The wickets of Praveen and Steyn fell in successive balls before Karn Sharma, who remained unbeaten, prevented the hat-trick.
Earlier, electing to bat MI got off to a steady, if not explosive start, with openers Simmons and Parthiv Patel putting on 42 runs. Dale Steyn (2/38) dismissed Patel to break the partnership. He came for a second spell to castle Simmons.
Brief scores
MI 157 for eight (Lendl Simmons 51, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/26) beat SRH 137 for eight (Shikhar Dhawan 42, Lasith Malinga 4/23) by 20 runs.
