Ryan Rickelton had been dropped for inconsistent form after three single-digit scores in five matches. Before Wednesday, Rickelton last played on April 16. He came back into the XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad and made it worthwhile. Rickelton struck the fastest-ever century by a Mumbai Indians batter to propel his team to a massive 243 for five in their must-win IPL clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. Rickelton batted through the innings for an unbeaten 123 off a mere 55 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes, anchoring MI’s charge to an at-par total on a batting-friendly track at the Wankhede Stadium. Rickelton is the first-ever MI batter to score over 115 in an IPL innings.
The 29-year-old Rickelton brought up a third century (the other two coming in SA20 for MI Cape Town) for his franchise as MI made a desperate attempt to revive their fortunes with their highest total of the season so far.
Rickelton’s 123* is the highest score by an MI batter, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya’s 114* (vs Chennai Super Kings in 2008). In his first IPL hundred for MI, Rickelton moved past Sanath Jayasuriya, Quinton de Kock (112*), Rohit Sharma (109* and 105*) and Suryakumar Yadav (103*) in the list of top run-scorers for MI. Rickelton reached the century mark in 44 balls, the fastest by any MI batter, surpassing Jayasuriya’s 45-ball effort (in 2008 vs CSK).
Using the long handle to maximum effect, not once did Rickelton take any unwarranted risk; instead, he executed his strokes with conviction.
Alongside Rickelton’s exploits, MI also had England opener Will Jacks (46 off 22 balls) and skipper Hardik Pandya (31 off 15 balls; 2 fours, 2 sixes) delivering the goods.
With a new opening partner in the form of Jacks, the South African wicketkeeper-batter Rickelton provided MI with the spunk they have missed for most of this season.
The pair put on 78 in the powerplay and 93 for the first wicket in seven overs, setting the tone with a fearless approach.
More importantly, Rickelton stayed on for the long haul, as his innings proved to be the glue that held MI together while driving them towards a strong total.
Once he got going with a huge six over midwicket off Praful Hinge (2/54) in the second over, Rickelton did not take his foot off the pedal, completing his first half-century in 23 balls. He got the next fifty runs in just 21 deliveries.
Rickelton’s knock also helped MI recover from a quiet few overs in between, during which they lost Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav (5) and Naman Dhir (22).
While Jacks did a fine job in his first outing this season, striking three sixes and five fours, there were no visible signs that Suryakumar is anywhere close to regaining his form, as he was bounced out by Eshan Malinga (1/29).
The Indian T20I skipper pulled a short ball but did not respond well to the bounce, edging it straight to Abhishek Sharma at fine leg.
Dhir also could not keep up with the scoring rate at the other end, as Rickelton continued to push on before perishing to Hinge in the 14th over.
Mumbai Indians’ players, meanwhile, took the field wearing black armbands due to the untimely passing of the daughter of one of their support staff members.
With PTI inputs
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