HYDERABAD, India, CMC – West Indies stars Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard were brought back down to earth just three days after their heroics against Delhi Daredevils, when both suffered failures in Mumbai Indians’ seven-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad here yesterday.
Simmons and Pollard both blasted half-centuries as Mumbai crushed Daredevils by 146 runs last Saturday but they failed to scale those heights again, managing just one and five respectively as Mumbai were restricted to 138 for seven after opting to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The right-handed Simmons missed a swing at Afghan off-spinner Mohammad Nabi and was bowled in the second over with the score on four while Pollard followed at the back end of the innings, picking out mid-wicket with a full toss from seamer Bhuvneswar Kumar in the final over.
Captain Rohit Sharma was the only batsman to shine, top-scoring with 67 from 45 deliveries.
In reply, opener Shikhar Dhawan stroked an unbeaten 62 from 46 deliveries in a 91-run second wicket stand with Moises Henriques who made 44, as Sunrisers cruised to victory with 10 balls remaining.
Despite the defeat, Mumbai remained top of the standings with 18 points, two clear of Sunil Narine’s Kolkata Knight Riders, with Sunrisers in fourth with 15 points.