After century vs SRH, Saba Karim compares Ryan Rickelton to this PBKS batter, says 'both of them are very...'

Ryan Rickelton's stunning century went in vain as Mumbai Indians (MI) failed to defend 244 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their IPL 2026 clash on Wednesday, April 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Saba Karim compares Ryan Rickelton with Priyansh Arya

Winning the toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya opted to bat first against Pat Cummins' SRH. Openers Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks got off to a great start as the latter scored an amazing knock of unbeaten 123 off just 55 balls, with the help of 10 boundaries and eight sixes. Rickelton's ton helped MI reach 243 after the end of 20 overs.

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In response, SRH's opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head started the second innings with chaos. The Australian left-handed batter scored 76 runs off 30 balls to dismantle MI's bowling attack with Abhishek Sharma departed after scoring 45 of 24 balls. It was Heinrich Klassen's magical knock of unbeaten 65 off 30 balls which sealed the chase for SRH.

In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, former India player Saba Karim made Rickelton's comparison with star PBKS opener Priyansh Arya, saying both of them are very steady as they wait for the ball to come towards them.

"Ryan Rickelton is quite like Priyansh Arya - both of them are very steady, they don't step out to pace bowlers in the powerplay; they wait for the ball to come their way. And both of them have got a similar kind of a bat swing when they try and hit on the on side. So again, all that was pitched in the slot, angling towards him, he was able to easily manoeuvre those shots towards the on side."

Mumbai Indians' disappointing form in IPL 2026

Mumbai Indians kicked off the season with a great note, securing a commanding win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their season opener, but things took a sharp turn afterwards. After eight games, the Hardik Pandya-led side secured only two wins. The Mumbai-based franchise sit at ninth place with just four points in hand at a net run rate of -0.784.