DUBAI,CMC – West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder took 4-52 from four overs for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and though his side crashed to a 42-run defeat, they ended the title defence of last year’s champions Mumbai Indians in a run fest in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
In the second match of a double-header, Windies left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer struck two fours and two sixes in 29 off 22 balls, but Australian Glenn Maxwell upstaged him and the Delhi Capitals to carry Royal Challengers Bangalore to a seven-wicket win at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Delhi, however, still finished at the top of the preliminary table on 20 points; Chennai Super Kings was second because of a superior net run rate (NRR) that put them ahead of RCB after both teams finished on 18; and Kolkata Knight Riders squeezed into the final four ahead of Mumbai also due to a better NRR.
This meant that the Capitals will face CSK in Qualifier 1 tomorrow in Dubai and KKR and RCB will meet in the Eliminator the next day in Sharjah.
The winner of the Qualifier 1 will proceed directly to the final. Meanwhile, the loser will play the winner of the Eliminator (RCB vs KKR) in Qualifier 2.
The winner of Qualifier 2 will then become the second team in the final.
In Abu Dhabi: Holder and the rest of the Sunrisers bowling got a caning at the Shiekh Zayed Stadium from the Mumbai batsmen, who tried to set up their side for a highly improbable, if not impossible victory.
The lanky Barbadian conceded 22 in his first over – the fourth of the innings – but he redeem himself bowling at the “death”, giving further evidence that the West Indies selectors may have erred in omitting him from the 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup starting in nine days’ time in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Holder bowled the 18th and 20th overs of the Mumbai innings and took 3-18 in an effective closing spell.
Mumbai, whose line-up included West Indies T20 captain Kieron Pollard, entered the match needing to win by 171 runs to confirm a place in the top four and the playoffs to keep their title defence alive.
After Mumbai decided to bat, Pollard made only 13, but opener Ishan Kishan hammered 84 from only 32 balls and Suryakumar Yadav pounded 82 from 40 balls to leave Sunrisers with a chase of 236.
Once Sunrisers did not crumble, the fate of Mumbai was a foregone conclusion, and Manish Pandey hit 69 not out from 41 balls to follow a half-century opening stand from England batsman Jason Roy and Abhishek Sharma to help the Hyderabad outfit reach 193 for eight from their 20 overs.
Holder got only one before he was caught at long-on off Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile in the 17th over of the chase, rounding off a day of mixed emotions.
In Dubai: Hetmyer was caught at deep mid-wicket off the last ball of the Delhi innings from Mohammad Siraj, as the Capitals left RCB to chase 165.
The Capitals appeared in control halfway into the RCB chase, reducing their opponents to 55 for three, but Maxwell was dropped twice, by India internationals Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin, and this set the stage for a thrilling finish.
The Australian all-rounder smashed eight fours in 51 not out from 33 balls and put on an unbroken 111 for the fourth wicket with KS Bharat to lead RCB to victory off the last ball.
Bharat struck three fours and four sixes in the top score of 78 not out off 52 balls and hit the last ball of the match from Avesh Khan for six over long-on to seal the deal for RCB.
