Mumbai Indians (MI) posted the highest total of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season when they scored 235/9 in their stipulated 20 overs against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Abu Dhabi on Friday. With skipper Rohit Sharma choosing to bat first after winning the toss - MI went into the match needing a win by more than 170 runs to get into the playoffs - Ishan Kishan played a quickfire knock to set up the foundation for a big total. Kishan scored 84 off 32 balls before Suryakumar took charge of the innings with 82 runs from 40 balls to get MI to the highest score by a team in the IPL 2021 season.
Kishan hit 11 fours and four sixes in his explosive knock while Suryakumar hit 13 fours and three sixes. Jason Holder was the pick of the SRH bowlers with figures of 4/52.
The previous highest team total of the season was Punjab Kings' 221/6 against Rajasthan Royals in April.
Earlier at the toss, Rohit said that MI had no choice but to bat first, given the permutations and combinations for the playoffs race.
"We are going to bat first, no choice (smiles). The numbers are pretty scary, but we are going to give it all. Let's hope we can come out and do what we love to do. It's important to enjoy the game as well. It's been an on and off season for us. This is a great opportunity for us to do something that's never been done before," Rohit said.
MI's net run rate before this game was -0.048, which is why they face a near-impossible challenge of making it to the playoffs.