HYDERABAD, India, (CMC) – West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons narrowly missed out on a half-century as Mumbai Indians crushed Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets, to clinch second spot in the Indian Premier League and romp into the playoffsChasing a paltry 114 for victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Mumbai easily chased down their target with 37 balls to spare, with Simmons striking 48.
The victory, which left Mumbai second on 16 points at the end of the preliminaries, completed a remarkable turnaround for the franchise after they lost the first four fixtures of the campaign.
Chennai Super Kings topped the tables with 18 points with Chris Gayle’s Royal Challengers Bangalore third with 16 points and Rajasthan Royals fourth also with 16 points.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, with the West Indies duo of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, just missed out on the playoffs after ending in fifth with 15 points.
Simmons and Parthiv Patel ensured there would be no upsets, posting a measured 106 for the first wicket, which snuffed the life out of Sunrisers.
The right-handed Simmons faced 44 deliveries and counted four fours and two sixes while Parthiv stroked nine fours in a 37-ball, unbeaten 51.
Simmons started cautiously but slowly upped the tempo, moving into overdrive with victory beckoning when he crunched two back-to-back sixes off leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the 12th over of the innings which cost 22 runs.
He seemed almost certain to notch a half-century but sliced Karn Sharma to Shikhar Dhawan at point in the bowler’s next over.
Earlier, Sunrisers were dismissed for 113 off their allotted overs, with left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan destroying the innings with three for 17 from his four overs.
Lokesh Rahul was the only batsman to pass 20 with a top score of 25.
Mumbai take on Chennai tomorrow in the first qualifier while RCB and Rajasthan clash in the second playoff.