Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen brilliance eclipses Rickelton ton in 244 chase
Mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on blistering knocks from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen to chase down a daunting 244 and beat Mumbai Indians by six wickets in their IPL clash here on Wednesday.
After Ryan Rickelton struck a sensational unbeaten 123 off 55 balls — the highest individual score for MI and their fastest IPL century — the hosts piled up 243/5 at the Wankhede Stadium.
In reply, SRH produced a ruthless batting effort to finish at 249/4 in 18.4 overs, recording the fourth-highest successful run chase in IPL history.
Head set the tone with a 30-ball 76, smashing eight sixes and four fours, while Klaasen delivered the finishing punch with an unbeaten 65 off 30 balls, studded with seven fours and four sixes.
SRH’s charge began early as Head and Abhishek Sharma (45) powered them to 62 in four overs, capitalising on dropped chances and missed edges by MI. Despite losing Abhishek, Ishan Kishan and Head in quick succession, Klaasen ensured there was no slowdown, launching a counter-attack that took the game away from the hosts. Earlier, Rickelton anchored MI’s innings with authority, finding support from Will Jacks (46) and Hardik Pandya (31) as the home side posted
their highest total batting first this season.
However, MI’s bowlers struggled on a flat surface, with even Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless, as SRH completed a remarkable chase with eight balls to spare.
