SRH suffered a 4-wicket defeat against MI when they had 162 runs to defend at Wankhede. Their batters failed once again in tricky batting conditions. The bowlers tried their best, but it’s difficult to restrict the chasing team under 180 on a small ground like Wankhede. Let’s look at the key reasons for SRH‘s defeat against MI.
Batting failure
SRH started this season with the record of the second-highest total in IPL ever by scoring 286 runs against RR in their first match. But LSG exposed the weakness of their batting order by mixing the pace and variations against them in the second match. They provided a blueprint for every team on how to tackle these hard-hitting batters.
Wankhede, normally, a batting pitch was converted into a slow wicket for the SRH match. MI bowlers executed their slower one well and restricted the explosive batting line-up for just 162 runs in 20 overs. The first six of the innings came in the 18th over.
The problem with SRH batters is that they are not planning the projected score. They are going for 240-260 in every pitch. Yesterday’s wicket was an ideal pitch for 180 – 190. But, SRH went very hard and lost wickets at crucial times and couldn’t rotate the strike in the middle overs as well.
Poor bowling strategy
SRH didn’t come prepared well for controlling MI batters. Eshan Malinga, apart from his last over, didn’t bowl as per the field set. He conceded 35 runs in his first 3 overs. They could have tried a left-arm spinner, Abhishek Sharma, against Suryakumar Yadav.
Will Jacks got a grip from the pitch and took 2 wickets in the middle overs for MI. Suryakumar had a weakness against left-arm spinners. They could have tried one over with Travis Head against the lefties, Rickelton, and Tilak Verma. While defending a low target, you have to take such gambles.
They brought in Rahul Chahar for the first time in this season and gave him just one over, and went with Zeeshan Ansari, who was also expensive. He gave 35 runs in 3.1 overs. Rahul Chahar also had great experience of bowling at Wankhede when he played for them in the 2018-2019 seasons.
He bowled one over and gave 9 runs. He could have come to bowl at least one more over. Harshal Patel, whose bowling style was ideal for this pitch, also couldn’t create an impact as he went for 31 runs in his 3 overs.
Also Read: MI vs SRH: Will Jacks’ All-Round Brilliance Stuns SRH