Simmons, Rayudu in crucial stand as Mumbai Indians stay afloat

HYDERABAD: New Mumbai Indians recruit Lendl Simmons (68; 50b, 5x4, 4x6) and Ambati Rayudu (68 off 46) came good to fashion an emphatic seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep the team's chances alive heading into the final stretch of IPL 7.
The bowlers gave Mumbai a total to work with - in spite of a calculated assault from Hyderabad's David Warner that yielded 33 runs in the last two overs, helping Sunrisers to manage 157/3 batting first - and the batsmen raced to 160 off 18.4 overs, with Simmons and Rayudu notching up a 130-run second-wicket stand off 87 deliveries.
Mumbai, who have blown hot and cold throughout this tournament, now stand No. 6 on the points table while Sunrisers began their four-match campaign at home in IPL 7 on a losing note.
Earlier, the Sunrisers' ploy was to bat around Aaron Finch and he did not let them down, scoring 68 (62b; 7x4, 6x2). Along with Warner's unbeaten 55 (31b, 6x4, 2x6), it allowed Hyderabad to recover from 70/2 at the halfway stage to 103/2 after 15.
Kieron Pollard, who turned 27 on the day, was at the receiving end of Warner's assault as he went for 18 in the last over of the innings and the Sunrisers added 54 in the last five.
Corey Anderson went for a few in the only two overs he bowled, but offie Harbhajan Singh was treated with respect. Lasith Malinga, though, was the most successful Mumbai bowler with 2/35.
Mumbai, when they batted, made light of the early dismissal of CM Gautam and got their act together fast despite the tight opening spells of Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The duo gave little away - 16 in their first four overs - but it was clear the Mumbai outfit had planned to target the likes of Irfan Pathan and Amit Mishra.
The left-armer went for 16 runs in his first over as the visitors ensured they were on a par with the Sunrisers at the halfway stage.
Simmons, who replaced an injured Jalaj Saxena in the squad, was reprieved by KL Rahul inside the mid-wicket fence while Rayudu, who plied his wares for the Hyderabad Ranji team before moving west, showed enough deft touches.
It took a nice reflex catch on his follow through by Moises Henriques to get rid of Rayudu, but skipper Rohit Sharma (14 no) and birthday boy Pollard (6 no) ensured they ended the night with their third win in the tournament.
STORY OF THE MATCH
TURNING POINT
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dale Steyn were two of the most potent bowlers that SRH had in the mix. However, once CM Gautam was dismissed, both Rayudu and Lendl Simmons chose to cut out any risks against them and attacked the other bowlers. It was smart thinking.
177.41
Warner's strike-rate: Making David Warner bat at No. 4 in a T20 game is like serving tandoori chicken to a toothless man. That the big-hitting Aussie Warner has found a way to bulldoze attacks even in an unfamiliar position is credit to the batsman. He was the reason why SRH made 157.
10.50
Pollard's eco-rate: After being asked to contain a big hitter like MS Dhoni in MI's previous game, Rohit Sharma against entrusted the Windies all-rounder with the last over. He went for 18 with Warner hitting him for two fours and a six.
TALKING POINT
Mumbai Indians have one of the most respected think tanks among all IPL franchises. With people like John Wright, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Robin Singh in to help skipper Rohit Sharma, one would have expected some sense in their decisions. However, the ploy to drop their best bowler against CSK, Praveen Kumar defied logic. They recalled Pragyan Ojha, who went for 32 in his four overs and hardly troubled the SRH batsmen.