243! Mumbai Indians had 243 runs on the board in a bid to snap out of their horrible patch of form in the Indian Premier League. But that was simply not enough as a red-hot Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded the fourth-highest chase in the history of the tournament, handing Hardik Pandya’s side their sixth loss this season.
Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) and Travis Head (76 off 30) got SRH off to a rollicking start, adding 129 runs for the first wicket. But the hero, the real hero of the chase, was Heinrich Klaasen, who played his best innings of the season, guiding the team to one of their most dominant batting performances of the season.
This game was evidence of the monumental evolution that has taken place in the SRH team over the last two seasons. SRH were not a good chasing side in 2024, when they reached the final of the IPL. In 2025, the issue compounded, forcing the team out of the playoff places.
They recognised the issue, made a simple fix, and locked the No. 4 spot for Klaasen in 2026. The right-hander struggled in a couple of games at the start, but since then has been raking up runs at will this season.
Klaasen hit his peak in the IPL last season, scoring 487 runs in 14 games. He has already crossed the 400-run mark in IPL 2026, and that too in only 9 games.
MI vs SRH, IPL 2026: Highlights| Scorecard
Klaasen came out to bat in the ninth over, when SRH had lost back-to-back wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan (0 off 1) in the 9th over. He stood at the crease and guided the team’s chase in clinical fashion. Instead of overhitting the ball, he targeted the gaps, finishing the game with 7 fours and 4 sixes.
Klaasen’s composure, mixed with young Salil Arora’s rapid 30* off 10 balls, helped SRH seal the game, once again proving how wrong the experts were about the team’s potential at the start of the season.
KLAASEN A CLASS APART IN IPL
Heinrich Klaasen came into the Indian Premier League on the back of his international retirement. Out of the South African side, Klaasen did not really come off the grind that the other international players had gone through before the IPL.
That rustiness, that uncertainty reflected in several moments in the first few games from Klaasen’s bat. But if anything, the South African is a fighter. He grinded it out in several games. Some were uglier than the others. But Klaasen made sure that he never scored below 25 runs in a single game.
That grind is now reflecting in his innings. There is a surety in his footing, his shot selection, and his game reading, something that SRH had missed last season.
After coming into bat, Klaasen saw the top three batters of the team lose their wickets in a space of 6 balls. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and then Travis Head walked off the ground.
Yes, SRH had 133 on the board in the first 10 overs, but they were at a high risk of losing steam midway through the chase.
What did Klaasen do? With assurance, he launched an epic counter-attack, making sure that Mumbai did not find a way back into the game. Out of the first 12 balls he faced, Klaasen sent 6 of them to the boundary – 5 fours and 1 six.
With Klaasen making sure that SRH were never threatened by the required run rate, the chase stayed below 10 runs per over at most points, boosting the confidence of the likes of Salil Arora to play their natural game.
JASPRIT BUMRAH’S HORROR DAY
What perhaps did not help Mumbai Indians was Jasprit Bumrah having an absolute horror day on the field. Bumrah’s 4 overs cost MI 54 runs, and the fast bowler did not even pick up a wicket on the day.
Every single over Bumrah bowled today, he went for runs, undoing the good work that Hardik Pandya did with the ball.
You would have to scratch your heads to find days when you can call Bumrah the worst bowler on the field. Today was one of those days.
MI had a brief glimmer of hope when Trent Boult conceded just 4 runs in the 15th over, but any hope of that was buried by Klaasen, who hit Allah Ghazanfar for 2 sixes in the very next over on Wednesday.
From there on, it was a cakewalk for SRH, who completed the highest-ever chase at the Wankhede in just 18.4 overs.
MI vs SRH: RICKELTON’S CENTURY GOES IN VAIN
The first innings of the game mirrored the see-sawing momentum of the chase. Mumbai Indians, who were desperate to make a comeback in this game, tried another new pairing at the top. Will Jacks, returning from his holiday, was paired with Ryan Rickelton, who replaced his South African compatriot Quinton de Kock.
Rickelton had begun his IPL 2026 campaign with a lovely innings of 81 runs against KKR, but ended up fizzling out later. Returning to form, the left-hander found the perfect support in Jacks, who raced to 46 runs off just 22 balls. The Englishman continued his exceptional touch from the T20 World Cup, albeit in a position that was not familiar to him.
Rickelton and Jacks added 93 runs in the first 7 overs. After scoring 78 in the powerplay, the duo put Harsh Dubey to the sword, taking 15 off the spinner’s over, which was supposed to calm things down for SRH.
Out of ideas, Pat Cummins turned to Nitish Reddy in the eighth over. The medium-pacer amped his pace up into the 140s to edge Jacks behind the stumps. Jacks’ dismissal brought vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav to the crease. But the batter’s stay was cut short by Eshan Malinga, as a sharp short ball caught Suryakumar in two minds. The right-hander was late on his shot, ending up getting caught at fine leg.
With two wickets in a space of 9 balls, SRH hoped to make a comeback into the game. But Ryan Rickelton had different plans.
Given a lease of life by the franchise, Rickelton went on an absolute rampage, with Naman Dhir simply rotating strike at the other end. The batter scored his century in just 44 balls, recording the fastest century among Mumbai players.
Apart from one Eshan Malinga over in the 13th, Mumbai absolutely dominated the middle overs, raking up over 200 runs in 16 overs. Just when it looked like Mumbai would most definitely cross 250 runs, the Pat Cummins-led SRH bowling attack conceded just 41 runs at the death, handing SRH the momentum going into the chase.
With the win, SRH regained third place in the Indian Premier League table. They have now won five matches in a row and are looking like one of the early favourites to qualify for the playoffs this season.
