This victory propelled the Mumbai Indians into the play-off places of the Indian Premier League, as they defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Sunrisers posted a competitive total of 200-5, with the help of some fine innings from their openers.
Mumbai Indians’ unbeaten duo of Green and Rohit Sharma, who contributed 56 runs off 37 balls, guided their team to a comfortable victory, reaching a total of 201-2 in exact 18 overs.
However, the Mumbai Indians’ position in the play-offs is not secured yet, as the Royal Challengers Bangalore can surpass them if they win their match against the Gujarat Titans later on Sunday.
This outcome spelled elimination for the Rajasthan Royals, who needed both the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose in order to have a chance of progressing.
The Sunrisers, who finished at the bottom of the IPL standings, owe their respectable total to the impressive opening partnership of Mayank Agarwal and Vivrant Sharma, who added 140 runs in just 13.5 overs.
At one stage, SRH were all set to touch 220-225 runs mark but some briliant and match deciding bowling effort from Akash Madhwal and Chris Jordan is last four overs impeded the SRH’s scoring runrate.
For the Mumbai Indians, the early dismissal of Ishan Kishan was quickly overshadowed by the dominant partnership between Sharma and Green, which put their team firmly in control.
Green’s explosive batting saw him reach his half-century in just 20 balls, and he went on to hit an astonishing eight sixes and eight fours in his maiden IPL century.
It was an abysmal Bowling performance by Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers who bowled four no balls and dropped two crucial catches followed by some poor fielding.
As for the IPL play-off schedule, it consists of four games, with the first match taking place on Tuesday. The Gujarat Titans, having topped the group stage, will face the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1.
The winner of that match will advance to the final scheduled for Sunday, May 28. On Wednesday, the Lucknow Super Giants will take on the team that finishes in fourth place, either the Mumbai Indians or the Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the Eliminator.
The losing team of this match will be eliminated from the competition. The winner of the Eliminator will then face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2, which will determine the second finalist in the IPL.