Partnership of the Day

Dhawan, Henriques keep Hyderabad's playoff hopes alive

The duo guided Hyderabad to seventh win off 13 matches, which put them fourth in the points table

Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques added 91 runs for the second wicket  •  AFP

Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques added 91 runs for the second wicket  •  AFP

Chasing just 139, Hyderabad needed just 6.90 an over from the onset to overturn league leaders, Mumbai. Moises Henriques and Shikhar Dhawan, with a 91-run stand for the second wicket, provided just the platform they required to register a comfortable seven wicket win against Mumbai at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Monday.
Rohit Sharma, Mumbai's captain, won the toss and opted to bat first. But his ploy backfired as his batsmen struggled to find their feet on a sluggish surface. Sharma was the only Mumbai batsman that found form and thumped a 45-ball 67. Cameos from Parthiv Patel and Hardik Pandya helped in pushing the tourists to 138. Mumbai needed wickets to stay alive and David Warner's departure in the second over of the chase gave them hope, but that was short lived as Henriques and Dhawan took charge.
Dhawan thumped the first four in the third over, before Henriques took charge and clubbed Jasprit Bumrah for two more in the fifth. Mumbai conceded the early advantage through poor bowling and the Henriques-Dhawan combine capitalized. Dhawan was particularly unforgiving off legspinner Karn Sharma, and lofted him for two sixes. Henriques finally fell in the 13th over for a 35-ball 44 that included six fours. Hyderabad was still 41-runs adrift at that stage. Dhawan refused to budge and guided the defending champions home with 10 balls remaining. Dhawan remained unbeaten on 62 off 46. The counter-attacking display kept Hyderabad's playoff chances alive.