Live Cricket Score - SRH vs MI, Match 56, IPL 2020

SRH storm into the playoffs with a landslide victory!

SRH will face RCB in the Eliminator in Abu Dhabi on November 6

What a way to announce an entry into the top-four. They've infact overtaken RCB to third spot owing to their NRR. And they've done it by thoroughly pulverising the best side in the league - albeit without two of their best bowlers. SRH deserve a lot of praise for the way they've bowled in the last few games and for sticking with their tough move of keeping Saha in and Bairstow out. This result also means KKR's season is now over.

Warner has been such a force for SRH over the years...

Warner and Saha are acing the chase

This is top-notch batting. After getting SRH's sixth successive 50-plus score in the PowerPlay, the SRH openers have not let MI crawl their way back in the middle-overs. It could be a lesson learnt the hard way - when they failed to chase 127 against KXIP. They shunned the idea of going cautious or slowing down through the middle and have got the runs even after the field restrictions were relaxed. From 56/0 in 6 overs, SRH have reached 88/0 in 10 overs, bringing the asking rate down to just 6 an over.

Exceptional start for SRH

Warner and Saha have ensured they don't let the advantage of not having to face Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah go waste. They've picked 56 runs off the first six overs to put their side in a good position here. The big start helps considering the conditions are going to be slow in the middle. Keep an eye out for the usage of towels on the ball by MI fielders and bowlers. That should give a good indication of whether dew has made its presence felt tonight.

Here's a Dhawal Kulkarni nugget for you...

Warner, Saha blaze away in the PP

Three successive fours off James Pattinson. Warner continues to clear his front leg and smashing boundaries like he did in the previous fixtures. Saha has been a breath of fresh air since being brought into the side at the expense of Jonny Bairstow. This a flying start for SRH in the absence of MI's regular quicks Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah.

Outlet in the second over

Dhawal Kulkarni gave away just three runs in the opening over but Saha found the outlet against Nathan Coulter-Nile, hitting him for a six and four. Positive start for SRH this as the ball still seems to be stopping on the pitch.

MI end with 149/8

Pollard blitz at the death helped MI to an extent after they struggled through the middle-phase. 30 runs in the last over has taken them to a just about par total of 149 for 8. Will it be enough? Only time (and mostly the outset of dew) will tell.

Pollard falls after flurry of sixes

Jason Holder has removed the big West Indian who hit three successive sixes off Natarajan in the penultimate over and hit his fourth off Holder in the final. You could say Holder got lucky with the wicket as he got it off a full toss that Pollard missed while trying to smash over the stands once again.

- Jason Holder dismisses Nathan Coulter-Nile - his 100th T20 wicket

A stat SRH fans won't want to see...

Pollard vs Holder in T20s: 45 runs | 18 balls | 5 X 6s | One dismissal | SR 250

Sandeep Sharma at it again!

He's once again responded to being hit for a six with a dismissal. Ishan Kishan had camped back and carved a ball outside the off-stump for a straight six and then tried it again, but ended up dragging it back onto the stumps.

How much can MI score in the last four overs?

The answer to this question is always the same - a lot of runs! That's been the trend this year at least. They've got 109 for 5 in 16 overs and the man with a 200 SR - Kieron Pollard - is in the middle. We're slipping into season-defining phase for SRH.

An unbelievable drop from Rashid Khan

How did that pop out? Rashid bowled a googly going away from Ishan Kishan's offstump and got the left-hander to top-edge it. He called it, got under the skied ball and was in perfect position to even pouch that in his sleep. But somehow, that has popped out of his big palms. Will this let off cost SRH?

STAT:A testimony of SRH's fine bowling effort -This is the first time this season MI have lost their fifth wicket inside 100 runs

And now Rashid Khan strikes!

What an incredible period of play for SRH here. They've now picked three wickets in the space of seven balls without conceding a run. Rashid comes back into the attack and starts with a googly to the unsuspecting Saurabh Tiwary who offers a weak forward defence and ends up edging it. Wriddhiman Saha once again showed his exceptional glovework. Out of nowhere, MI are five down.

Nadeem removes Krunal Pandya!

Sharjah's tacky pitch is rearing its head here. An innocuous length ball from Nadeem stopped on the wicket and foxed Krunal Pandya. He didn't anticipate and went early into his attempt to push the ball towards the leg side. A leading edge went to Kane Williamson.

Suryakumar Yadav falls against the run of play!

He was going very well once again but he has been sent packing thanks to sharp glovework from Wriddhiman Saha. Suryakumar had dragged his back leg out of the crease while trying to play on the up against a ball that was bowled outside the off-stump to him. Saha was watchful of the movement from Suryakumar and whipped off the bails very quickly to eke out a wicket out of nowhere.

Well played, SKY!

He becomes the first uncapped player to hit 400-plus runs in three successive seasons. No one has done it for more than one season.

Elsewhere in the world of cricket...

Zimbabwe have just taken the 2nd ODI against Pakistan into the SUPER OVER...in spite of a Babar Azam century. Head over here to keep an eye on how that unfolds...

Suryakumar Yadav v Natarajan could be interesting...

Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan vs Rashid Khan

The first over of Rashid Khan tonight reads - 1 2 1 1 1 1. That's not bad from SRH's point of view but it was an interesting approach from the two MI batsmen in the middle. No tentativeness or attempt to play him and his tough-to-read variations late. They've brought out the sweep shot early and are looking to make sure he doesn't settle. Smart batting from two of MI's best this year.

Good summary of the proceedings so far...

Sandeep wins the QdK duel

Change of pace on tacky wickets can make best of batsmen look clumsy but if you know what's coming and can second-guess the variations to perfection, you an pull off the two towering sixes that the South African opener just did. He hit them over deep square leg and long on.

Sandeep then bowled a full toss outside the off-stump that the charged up de Kock chased after and ended up playing onto his stumps. MI are two down inside the PP!

Sandeep Sharma strikes!

And Rohit Sharma is gone early in his comeback game. David Warner takes a sharp catch at mid-off to give Sandeep Sharma his eighth powerplay wicket this season. Superb bowling this from Sandeep. He's been a smart bowler in these slow conditions, as he showed in SRH's win over RCB a few days ago.

He's done it tonight again, with a brilliant knuckle ball that. Rohit was looking to play his favourite shot over the mid-off fielder but had to check it at the last minute because the ball came slower than he'd anticipated. The result was a chip to Warner at mid-off. Good start for SRH.

Not the bowler Rohit would've wanted to face in his comeback game after a hamstring injury...could be a tough match-up, this.

Rohit's inclusion today is rather intriguing. This comes on the day BCCI president Sourav Ganguly advised him to wait until full recovery and not risk aggravating his hamstring injury. ICYMI, he was not named in the India squads for the upcoming tour of Australia, and is one of the two players who are to be assessed by BCCI's medical team.

Line-ups...

SRH:David Warner(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

MI:Rohit Sharma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, James Pattinson, Dhawal Kulkarni

TOSS: SRH win toss, opt to bowl first. Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult rested.

BIG NEWS:Rohit Sharma seems to be back. He's walked out for the toss.

STAT:Never before has a team had two uncapped players hitting 400 runs in a season for them. We could see that record break tonight...

Track record at Sharjah...

MI: Played 2 | Won 2 | Lost 0

SRH: Play 2 | Won 1 | Lost 1

The Sharjah sub-plot for these two sides is interesting. One of MI's win at the venue was against SRH, who actually bowled well for majority of the innings at a time when conditions were perfect for batting. MI managed to go past the 200-run mark courtesy Krunal Pandya's four-ball 20 at the end, and SRH couldn't chase that down.

However, SRH's win at the venue came just three days ago when David Warner won the toss, put RCB in and his bowlers did an exceptional job of restricting them to just 120. And then there was dew... lot's of it which made it impossible for the team defending the total.

In conclusion, Sharjah's been rather notorious with conditions and it's come to a stage where win toss, bowl first has been the way to go in order to avoid having to grip a wet ball later on.

Prelude - Can SRH do the double over best team of the tournament?

Even the thought of that seems daunting but that's what SRH need to do if they are to keep their run of making it to the playoffs in every season since 2016 intact.

Like many of the mid-table stragglers, SRH too have had a very inconsistent season - accentuated by their middle-order woes - but with three wins in the last four games, here they are, with their fate in their own hands... and by association, KKR's too. Delhi Capitals' victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore last night took both their NRRs above and beyond KKR's, leaving Eoin Morgan's side hoping for MI to be at their best when they go up against SRH in the very last league stage game.

For SRH, the equation is simple, without any convuluted sub-clauses: win and go through, lose and go home.

What's in the game for MI, you ask? Good question. They've been thoroughly ruthless, and had the top spot locked in even before the teams below them got into a scuffle for the remaining three places. They have 18 points, and already know who they face in the first Qualifier on November 5 - Delhi Capitals in Dubai. So what do they do tonight? Give some of their regular performers a rest? Or chase after the intangible momentum that players keep talking about. Knowing them and their levels of efficiency this year, it's highly likely they'll do both and dump SRH out in the process.

Whichever way it goes, it promises to be a fascinating game - a perfect end to one of the most incredible league-stages in IPL history.