(Image source from: A rousing nine wicket win for Mumbai Indians over beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2015})

Combined figures of 5 for 33 from eight overs, bowled by Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan, handed Mumbai Indians a place in the IPL playoffs. Mumbai ended in second place in the points table behind Chennai Super Kings, after a rousing nine-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Mumbai finished the match with 6.1 overs to spare to complete a great comeback to the season, which began for them with four consecutive defeats. Sunrisers, though, hardly turned up in their own ground despite having a head start when David Warner called correctly at the toss.

Warner's decision to bat first was a straightforward one given the sheen on the pitch, but it all fell apart in seven deliveries. Sunrisers' best batsmen this season have been Warner and his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, by a distance.

Malinga got the ball to get under Dhawan's bat in the first over, sending him back for just 1. Next delivery, McClenaghan bounded in and got one to hurry into Warner who was caught nowhere playing the pull. The ball took a leading edge and fountained in the air, only to be gobbled up by Kieron Pollard who was coming in from point.

Malinga and McClenaghan gave away just 13 runs in the first four overs they bowled together. Eoin Morgan got a boundary off Vinay Kumar in the fifth over before McClenaghan hurried another to the batsman, this time Morgan top-edging to third man for a simple catch. McClenaghan added the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 17th over to finish with 3 for 16 from his four overs.

KL Rahul got a couple of fours, but then it was J Suchith's turn to stutter the home side further. In the 10th over, he first had Moises Henriques stumped for 11, before removing the out-of-form Naman Ojha for a first-ball duck, the batsman chipping to Rohit Sharma at cover. Rahul fell in the 13th over after he dragged a Harbhajan Singh short delivery on to the stumps for 25. From 61 for 6, there was very little hope remaining for the hosts.

Ashish Reddy, who was brought into the side in place of Bipul Sharma, struck the first six of the innings when he clouted Harbhajan over midwicket but he too fell the following over, caught at point. Dale Steyn knocked three fours in his 11-ball unbeaten 19 but it was never going to be enough.

Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel found three fours each in the first six overs of the small chase. Parthiv was the aggressor among the pair, adding fours quite regularly. Parthiv, though, survived a stumping chance on 34 when his opposite number Ojha couldn't gather Karn Sharma's googly in two tries, leaving Parthiv with little to do but plonk his bat back in the crease in time.

The legspinner Karn gave 22 runs in his second over, with Simmons cracking two consecutive sixes over midwicket after Parthiv had scored two fours off the second and third deliveries. Karn eventually took the wicket of Simmons, but by then, the batsman had made 48 off 44 balls with four fours and the two sixes, and with the score at 106. Parthiv remained unbeaten on 51 off 37 balls with the help of nine fours, and quite aptly, struck the winning runs in the 14th over.

Simmons and Parthiv added their second hundred-plus opening partnership of the season as Mumbai cruised to set up a clash with the table-toppers Super Kings for the first qualifier in Mumbai on May 19.

- Manohar. M