How Umran Malik turned the tides in favor of SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s fastest bowler, Umran Malik, took crucial wickets in the middle overs after an eventful opening over to pull his team from a precarious position. Coming into the attack for the first time in the ninth over, the right-arm pacer from Jammu and Kashmir began with an above-the-waist high No Ball to Ishan Kishan for which the batsmen took a bye.

The resultant Free Hit delivery went over the head of Rohit Sharma that was declared wide. The Free Hit stayed and Malik’s third attempt to bowl his first legal delivery was another bouncer to Sharma, who attempted to hook and the ball went to the boundary off his helmet. No Ball was again called for the second bouncer of the over.

However, the fourth attempt was the first legal delivery that went off Sharma’s pad for one leg bye. MI, who at the start of the ninth over were sitting pretty at 61 for no loss chasing 194, were gifted eight runs without a legal delivery actually bowled. Malik’s first over actually cost SRH 17 runs including 2 leg byes and one bye.

However, when he got into the rhythm, Malik was on fire. In his next two overs, the 12^th and 15^th, Malik picked up three wickets to finish with SRH’s best figures of three for 23.

Malik first dismissed Kishan, the batsman mistiming a lofted shot, skying on the on-side where Priyam Garg ran from mid-on to take the catch. This wicket, MI’s second, came only an over after off-spinner Washington Sundar gave the vital breakthrough, separating Sharma and Kishan, and their 95-run opening stand. Sharma had thrown it away when on 48, hitting straight to deep mid-wicket substitute fielder Jagadeesha Suchith.

At the manner in which Sharma and Kishan were going, it seemed to be an easy victory for MI, but their dismissals back to back, followed by two more – Tilak Verma’s attempted pull off Malik taking the leading edge for Kane Williamson to pull off a fine running catch at cover and Daniel Sams pulling the pacer straight into the hands of Garg at deep mid-wicket took MI to 127 for four after 15 overs. At this stage, SRH were sitting pretty in sight of victory as MI needed 67 in 30 balls.

The win was SRH’s until Tim David, the Singapore international, almost did a turnaround in MI’s favour. Off SRH left-arm pacer T Natarajan’s last over, the 18^th of the innings, he hit four sixes to bring MI back in the race, reducing the equation to 19 needed in 13 deliveries.

It was poor bowling from Natarajan as he fed David with full toss after full toss. Natarajan delivered four full tosses and all the four were promptly hit for sixes. The first ball of the 18^th over was sent over long-on, the third over square-leg, the fourth over the mid-wicket boundary and the fifth went outside the ground in the same region.

However, off the sixth, which Natarajan pitched and David drove straight back to the bowler, he took off for a single in order to retain the strike. However, Natarajan was alert enough to gather the ball and run David out at the non-striker’s end for an 18-ball 46.

David’s dismissal brought Jasprit Bumrah to the crease. The 19^th over by the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar saw five dot balls including four to Bumrah after Sanjay Singh was dismissed to a cut shot straight to the point fielder in the deep.

What was 19 needed off 12 balls for MI became 19 needed off six. The last over sent down by Afghanistani inexperienced left-arm medium-pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi saw two dot balls off the second and fifth while a four and a six off Ramandeep Singh’s bat came a little too late.

Malik, it has to be said, provided the turning points for SRH, though the same could have gone to Tim David and his fireworks had the result gone against SRH. Such twists and turns in a T20 make cricket more interesting for the spectators.