South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton made a huge impact for the Mumbai Indians (MI) against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday (29). He came into the playing XI after Quinton de Kock was ruled out due to injury.
Rickelton played a sensational innings, scoring 100 runs off just 44 balls. His knock included 8 fours and 7 sixes, showing his dominance throughout the innings. It was his maiden IPL hundred and also the fastest century ever by a Mumbai Indians batter.
He broke the previous record of Sanath Jayasuriya, who had reached a hundred in 45 balls in 2008.
Rickelton kept his approach simple. He used the crease well and played shots all around the Wankhede Stadium. He was very strong on the leg side and also hit straight boundaries with confidence, including two sixes off Harsh Dubey.
When bowlers tried slower balls, he adapted quickly and attacked through the off side. The bowlers from Sunrisers Hyderabad had no answers to his aggressive batting.
The only chance came early when he nearly gave a catch to Praful Hinge, but the opportunity was missed.
His innings helped the Mumbai Indians cross 180 runs in just 15 overs. The team went on to score 243 runs, their highest total of the season at that point, thanks to Rickelton’s powerful performance.
