By Prakash Nair 
Mumbai, April 29: Ryan Rickelton just played one of the most absurd innings the Wankhede has seen in years. A ground that has hosted some of the biggest names in Twenty20 cricket, a ground where Rohit Sharma has made a career out of pulling off the impossible and tonight, a 29-year-old South African wicketkeeper who was dropped earlier this season came out and hit 123 off 55 balls like he had a personal grudge against every bowler Sunrisers Hyderabad brought to the party.
MI finish on 243 for 5. Their highest ever total batting first in the IPL. SRH need 244 to win. The second innings is about to begin and the Wankhede is absolutely alive.
Nobody Remembered Rickelton Was Even Playing
That is not a criticism. It is just the truth. The buildup to tonight was entirely about Rohit Sharma is he fit, will he play, can he open? And then at the toss, Hardik Pandya confirmed Rohit needs a couple more days. Disappointment rippled through the stands. Fair enough.
And then Rickelton walked out to open alongside Will Jacks and within about four deliveries, nobody was thinking about Rohit anymore.
Here is some context that makes tonight even better. Rickelton had a brilliant start to this IPL season 81 against KKR on opening night. Then he hit three single-digit scores. Then Quinton de Kock went and scored a century and cemented his spot. So Rickelton sat. Watched. Waited. De Kock got injured. Rickelton got his chance back.
He did not ease in gently. He did not respect the occasion or treat it carefully. He smashed Praful Hinge over deep midwicket off the very first ball he faced and basically did not stop from there. Fifty off 23 balls. Hundred off 44 balls the fastest century by any MI batter in terms of balls faced. Then he kept going and finished on 123 not out off 55. Ten fours. Eight sixes.
At some point during that innings it stopped being cricket and started being something else entirely.
The Powerplay Was Just Embarrassing for SRH
Both openers came out swinging and neither blinked. After six overs, Jacks was on 38 off 18. Rickelton was on 37 off 18. They were basically scoring at the same rate, hitting different kinds of shots, finding boundaries from different angles, and SRH had absolutely no idea what to do about any of it.
78 runs in the powerplay. MI’s second-highest powerplay score of the season. The 100 came up in 7.4 overs their fastest of IPL 2026.
Cummins tried. He always tries. But when both openers are in that kind of form on a flat Wankhede surface with a quick outfield, there is a limit to what even a captain of his quality can do in the first six.
Hinge had a rough night. He was expensive against Rajasthan Royals on debut last game. Tonight was worse.
Jacks Goes. SKY Goes. Rickelton Barely Notices.
The partnership ended at 93 in 7.1 overs when Cummins made the smart call and brought Nitish Kumar Reddy on. Reddy floated one fuller outside off, Jacks went for the big drive, and got a thick outside edge that carried to the keeper. 46 off 22 balls a brilliant cameo, but it ended.
Then Suryakumar Yadav came to the crease. And then, almost immediately, he left.
Eshan Malinga bowled him a slower bouncer. SKY went for the pull. Miscued it to deep backward square leg. Out for 5. Third time this season he has fallen to a short ball. The crowd went quiet for a moment not angry, just… tired. Suryakumar is not in a good place with his batting right now and everyone at Wankhede feels it. A flat pitch, a must-win game, the biggest stage his team has had all season and 5 runs.
Rickelton at the other end just looked down the pitch and got on with it.
Naman, Hardik, and the Business End
Naman Dhir at three did exactly what was needed kept it ticking, rotated strike, played sensibly around the carnage Rickelton was creating at the other end. 22 off 15 is not going to make headlines but it was the kind of innings teams desperately need when their anchor is going berserk at the other end.
Tilak Varma fell in the final few overs after a useful contribution. Hardik Pandya came in and played like a captain should in this situation no caution, no faffing around, just 31 off 15 balls with two fours and a six before Sakib Hussain finally caught him at long-off.
The last four overs are worth mentioning because SRH actually bowled better at the death than the scoreline suggests. MI were 202 for 3 after 16 and only added 41 in the last four. Cummins was tight. Malinga was exceptional. In any other context that would be a solid death bowling performance.
But when your opposition has already smashed 200 in 16 overs, tight death bowling is a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has retired and moved abroad.
Rickelton finished it off in style. Clubbed a full toss from Hinge straight down the ground. Pulled a slower bouncer past the keeper. Walked off to a Wankhede roar that he absolutely deserved.
A Word on Malinga
Seriously. Eshan Malinga bowled figures of 1 for 29 in four overs in a 243-run innings. That deserves to be acknowledged. While every other SRH bowler was getting carted, Malinga was changing pace, hitting good lengths, making batters think. He dismissed Suryakumar. He kept Rickelton to singles in some overs when nobody else could. On a night where SRH struggled badly with the ball, he was the one exception worth noting.
What SRH Are Walking Into
- At the Wankhede. Against Bumrah.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will open. If Abhishek gets going like he has been all season 380 runs at a strike rate of 212 this chase is not impossible. Ishan Kishan at three has been in the form of his career this IPL. Heinrich Klaasen at four is one of the most dangerous finishers in the world.
SRH have the batting to do this. On paper. But 244 is a score that makes even the best batting lineups hesitate, and the dew that everyone expected to help the chasing team has not been as heavy as anticipated tonight.
More than all of that Bumrah is fresh, the crowd is fully warmed up, and MI have just put in a batting performance that has shifted the entire mood of their dressing room in one innings.
Three weeks of failure, doubt, pressure, and embarrassment. And then this. Whatever happens in the second innings, MI have reminded themselves and everyone watching that they still know how to play cricket.
The chase starts now.
MI First Innings Scorecard:
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Rickelton | 123 | 55 | 10 | 8 | Not Out |
| Will Jacks | 46 | 22 | — | — | Out |
| Naman Dhir | 22 | 15 | — | — | Out |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 5 | — | — | — | Out |
| Tilak Varma | — | — | — | — | Out |
| Hardik Pandya (c) | 31 | 15 | — | — | Out |
| Total | 243/5 | 20 ov |
Total: 243 for 5 in 20 overs Target: 244
SRH Bowling:
| Bowler | Wickets | Runs | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eshan Malinga | 1 | 29 | — |
| Praful Hinge | 2 | 54 | — |
| Sakib Hussain | 1 | — | — |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 1 | — | — |
| Pat Cummins | 0 | — | — |
Stay ahead with Hindustan Herald — bringing you trusted news, sharp analysis, and stories that matter across Politics, Business, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle, and more.
Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, and join our Telegram community @hindustanherald for real-time updates.
Sports reporter covering cricket, football, and Olympic disciplines, with on-ground event experience.
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
