Green century powers Mumbai into final four

The Mumbai Indians completed their fourth chase of 200 or more this season to beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets and secure their passage into the knockout stages of IPL 2023. Cameron Green’s glorious century powered Mumbai home in their pursuit of 201, with the Australian all-rounder smashing an unbeaten 100 off just 47 balls to comfortably take Mumbai over the line with 12 balls to spare.

MI’s victory over SRH at the Wankhede helped them leapfrog Bangalore in the standings, taking them to number four in the points table, and the Royal Challenger’s defeat to Gujarat later in the day assured Rohit Sharma’s side of the final playoff spot.

Chasing 201, Mumbai lost Ishan Kishan in the third over but still managed to maximise the powerplay thanks to Green’s pyrotechnics. The number three raced out of the blocks for the hosts, smashing 30 runs off his first 10 deliveries to take Mumbai to 60 for 1 in six overs.

The Australian displayed his brute force against the spinners, carting Mayank Dagar for two sixes in the seventh over. The all-rounder also capitalised on some wayward bowling from the two SRH speedsters, Umran Malik and Karthik Tyagi, to bring up a 20-ball half-century.

Green’s onslaught allowed Rohit Sharma to ease himself into his innings, and the Mumbai skipper matched the Australian after a slow start, taking Umran Malik for a trio of boundaries. Rohit and Green added 128 runs in just 62 deliveries to put MI in the driving seat, and the Australian shouldered the responsibility of the chase after the captain’s dismissal for 56. Green combined with Suryakumar Yadav to score 20 runs off Umran Malik in the 16th and eventually brought up his maiden IPL century in 47 deliveries to take MI over the line in 18 overs.

While Green’s glorious century played a central role in Mumbai’s win, Akash Madhwal also delivered a crucial spell for the hosts to restrict SRH at the death. Aiden Markram’s side were well set for a monster total after being asked to bat first, with openers Mayank Agarwal and Virant Sharma adding 140 runs for the first wicket in 13.5 overs.

SRH threatened to post a score in excess of 200 after the excellent platform set but only managed 32 runs off the final four overs due to Madhwal’s brilliance at the death. The pacer picked up the big wicket of Mayank Agarwal for 83 before dismissing Heinrich Klaasen and Harry Brook with a pair of searing yorkers in the penultimate over, finishing with sublime figures of 4 for 37 to turn the game in favour of Mumbai.