New Delhi, India

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 3 runs in a thrilling encounter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday (May 17) to remain alive in the race for the playoffs. After a solid show from the batters, the SRH bowlers managed to hold their nerves during MI's run-chase to secure an all-important win for the team.

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Asked to chase down a target of 194 runs, Mumbai Indians got off to a great start with openers Rohit Sharma (48) and Ishan Kishan (43) adding a 95-run stand for the first wicket. Tim David then played a sensational cameo of 18-ball 46 but failed to take his side home as SRH bowlers did well to stop MI on 190/7 in 20 overs.

While Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with exceptional figures of 1/26 in his 4 overs, including a wicket-maiden 19th over, Umran Malik roared back to form. Umran picked up a three-wicket haul while conceding only 23 runs in his three overs.

Umran has been a revelation for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season and has been constantly garnering the limelight owing to his exploits with the ball. The SRH pacer, who has impressed with his raw pace and wicket-taking ability, has been one of the finds of the season. 

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Also Read: IPL 2022 updated points table: SRH remain alive in the race for playoffs with win over MI

After his brilliant performance against MI on Tuesday, former India head coach Ravi Shastri lavished praise on the young fast bowler and urged the BCCI to hand him a central contract as soon as possible. Shastri wants Umran to be fast-tracked into the Indian team so he can improve with time while learning from the senior players in the Indian team.

“Central contract straightaway for him (Umran Malik). Don’t let him float around, keep him in the mix with the main players and let him learn by being around the Shamis and Bumrahs and see the way they train, the way they manage their workload but don’t let him go astray,” Shastri said on ESPNCricinfo.

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Umran had struggled to deliver in the last few games for SRH as he went wicketless in as many as four matches and also ended up conceding a lot of runs. However, he bounced back with a good spell against MI on Tuesday and will be hoping to continue his fine form in SRH's final game of the season. Shastri believes the pacer will keep getting better with time.

“I think he’ll get better and better. Look at the lines he is bowling now. You don’t want him to cut down on pace. The last thing you’d want to tell him is while looking for control you cut down on pace. What you want him to do is get his lines right. If he can attack the stumps consistently varying his length, he will trouble anyone. And he can really rattle a new guy coming in because he’s got the pace, he can keep the batter on his toes but it’s that line if he can hit the right areas without reducing his pace, it’ll make a huge difference,” Shastri added.