File photo of Shardul Thakur.© BCCI
Mumbai Indians suffered a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. The side posted 243 for 5 in 20 overs after opting to bat first but failed to defend the target. In a surprising tactic from MI skipper Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur didn’t bowl a single over despite coming in as an Impact Player before the start of the seventh over during his team’s bowling. He replaced Robin Minz in the playing XI.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik used a total of six bowlers, including himself and spinner Will Jacks, but Shardul didn’t get an opportunity to bowl. When asked about it after the game, MI’s batting coach Kieron Pollard revealed he too didn’t know the reason behind the move.
“About why we didn’t have Shardul bowl a single over… I will go back and ask. Then again, if he had given away 20 runs in an over, it would have been a totally different conversation,” said Pollard at the press conference in Mumbai after his side’s defeat.
Ryan Rickelton‘s century went in vain as Mumbai Indians suffered a six-wicket loss at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The southpaw slammed his maiden IPL century as MI posted 243 for 5. Rickelton brought up his ton in 44 balls, becoming the fastest MI batter to reach the mark. He and Will Jacks added 93 runs off 43 balls for the opening wicket. Jacks was dismissed for 46 off 22, while Rickelton carried his bat for 123 off 55 – the highest score by an MI batter.
The total proved insufficient as MI missed plenty of chances in the field and their bowlers too fared poorly, with Jasprit Bumrah also included in that list. On a day that saw Mumbai Indians bowlers leaking runs, Bumrah also returned expensive figures of 0 for 54 in his quota of four overs.
For SRH, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Heinrich Klaasen (65 not out off 30) were the top scorers as the side reached home with eight balls to spare.
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