Comfortable win for Mumbai

IPL7, MATCH 36—Big stand between Simmons, Rayudu beats Sunrisers.

Fifties from Rayudu and Simmons did the trick for Mumbai.

Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu hit half-centuries to lead Mumbai Indians to an emphatic win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The victory, Mumbai Indians' third in nine matches, kept the defending champions' campaign barely alive. Sunrisers Hyderabad were tied down after choosing to bat for all but the last two overs of their innings. David Warner helped his side take 33 off those two to push the total to 157, but it hardly mattered, as Simmons and Rayudu put on 130 runs for the second wicket in 14.3 overs to haul Mumbai Indians home with eight balls to spare.

Mumbai Indians lost CM Gautam second ball of the second over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Simmons and Rayudu kicked on after a sedate start. The release came when Irfan Pathan was brought on following a couple of tight overs each from Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar. Simmons, who had tried to slog Steyn without success, found Irfan's pace to his liking, and slammed him for a couple of sixes and a four.

Rayudu welcomed Amit Mishra with a charge and a straight six, and Mumbai Indians weren't looking back, with the boundaries coming regularly. Simmons did not let the legspinners settle and swung Karn Sharma for a four and a six. Rayudu gave the same treatment to Irfan as the allrounder went for 29 in two overs.

Shikhar Dhawan went back to Steyn in the 13th over but Mumbai Indians were approaching 100 by that time. Rayudu and Simmons took the fast bowler for a four each. Sunrisers had a chance in the next over but KL Rahul put down a top-edged skier off Simmons at deep midwicket with the batsman on 59 and the team score on 110. Simmons and Rayudu fell in successive overs for 68 each eventually but the game was almost over by then.

Dhawan felt Sunrisers were about 20 runs short on what he had called a good batting surface at the toss as he chose to bat. Dhawan himself scratched around for a while before being bowled by a full inswinger from Lasith Malinga. Rahul ran himself out going for a non-existent single but Aaron Finch had looked in nice touch all along.

He drove Corey Anderson crisply down the ground for fours and went after Pragyan Ojha, lofting and driving the left-arm spinner repeatedly through the off side for boundaries. Warner joined Finch and hit the odd boundary as well but the pair was not able to dominate amid some tight bowling from Harbhajan Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.

Finch holed out off Malinga in the penultimate over for 68 off 62 but Warner stepped up and launched the fast bowler for a couple of sixes. He ended the innings with successive fours off Kieron Pollard to finish on 55 off 31. Given Sunrisers' reputation of successfully defending moderate totals at their home ground, 157 did not appear to be an easy chase, but Rayudu and Simmons made it look so.

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