Mumbai’s Joseph wrecks SRH in dream debut, CSK tame KXIP to go top again

Playing in his debut match, Mumbai Indians’ West Indies’ quick Alzarri Joseph registered the best-ever IPL bowling figures of 6/12 off 3.4 overs to fire Mumbai Indians to a 40-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a match of modest scores at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Mumbai successfully defended their score of 136/7 when Hyderabad were bundled out for 96 in 17.4 overs.

The star of Mumbai’s win, Joseph, accounted for the wickets of David Warner (15 off 13 balls), Vijay Shankar (5 off 10), Deepak Hooda (20 off 24) -- who was Hyderabad’s highest scorer on the night, Rashid Khan (0), SRH skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 off 6) and Siddharth Kaul (5 off 2).

Earlier, Hyderabad restricted Mumbai to a modest 136/7.

Mumbai kept on losing wickets at regular intervals as the Hyderabad bowlers not only kept on jolting the visitors, but also maintained a decent economy.

It was Kieron Pollard (46* off 26, 4x2, 6x4) who once again showed some resistance down the order to propel his team past the 100-run mark.

Put into bat, Mumbai started slowly before Mohammad Nabi drew the first blood by dismissing visiting skipper Rohit Sharma for 11. Sandeep Sharma soon delivered another blow by trapping Suryakumar Yadav plumb in front of the wicket.

With Mumbai reeling at 28/2, Quinton de Kock (19 off 18) and Ishan Kishan (17 off 21) tried to stabilise the innings. However, the two couldn’t taste much success as de Kock was sent back by Siddarth Kaul in the ninth over with the scoreboard reading 43/3.

Ishan and Krunal Pandya then added 20 runs in the next 2.2 overs before Kaul cut short Krunal’s stay. The Mumbai all-rounder top-edged a short delivery that landed safely in the hands of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

Mumbai suffered another blow soon when Ishan was caught short of the crease while trying to steal a quick single.

The hosts kept on picking wickets in quick succession as Hardik Pandya (14) and Rahul Chahar (10) too departed soon with just 97 runs on board. However, Pollard’s heroics in the last few overs helped the three-time champions reach a modest total.

For Hyderabad, Kaul scalped two wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi picked up one wicket each.

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis struck a brisk half-century in his first IPL game of the season to help Chennai Super Kings (CSK) outplay Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 22 runs at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. With this win, Chennai are back at the top of the IPL table.

Du Plessis made 54 off 38 balls in his team’s 160-3, a total their bowlers defended after restricting Punjab to 138-5 .

The South African captain, who was included in the XI after sitting out of Chennai’s four previous matches, hit two fours and four sixes on a sluggish pitch for batting.

“Just glad to be playing back in the homeground. I’ve been waiting in the sidelines and it is always good to get an opportunity,” Du Plessis said after his knock.

He built crucial partnerships including a 56-run opening stand with Australia’s Shane Watson, who made 26, to lay the foundation of the total after the defending champions elected to bat first.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scoring 37, was involved in an unbeaten 60-run fourth-wicket stand with Ambati Rayudu, who made 21.

Punjab’s chase was jolted by two early wickets in the very second over including the big-hitting Chris Gayle caught behind for five off veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh.

KL Rahul, who made 55, and Sarfaraz Khan, who top-scored with 67, then put on 110 runs for the third wicket but Punjab lost the plot with an ever increasing run rate.

Chennai’s New Zealand import Scott Kuggeleijn, a bowling all-rounder who played his debut IPL game after replacing injured Lungi Ngidi, and Singh claimed two wickets each.

Agencies