Hyderabad: The misfiring Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope for a happy homecoming when they take on a resurrected Mumbai Indians here on Wednesday, eyeing a much-needed victory to revive their campaign in the Indian Premier League.
With only two wins in seven outings, SRH are in a desperate situation. Their power-packed batting has let them down more often than not while their bowlers are not making any strong impression either.
That SRH are a one-dimensional side has been proven by the manner in which it has struggled on slow and turning pitches. The Pat Cummins-led outfit has lost two home matches too.
Their four-wicket defeat to MI in Mumbai on a tricky Wankhede pitch with grip and turn was the most recent instance of their frailties being exposed in challenging conditions.
SRH batters thrive on flat wickets which produce high-scoring contests and having a favourable surface against MI would give the them the best chance to find some momentum.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will have their task cut out against MI given SRH’s chances of winning hinge, to a large extent, on the left-handed opening pair. Their success in the powerplay defines the team’s fortunes in a contest.
Abhishek smacked a 55-ball 141 in his last outing here against Punjab Kings to record the highest individual total for any batter in this IPL.
There will be, however, some concerns around Head who hasn’t gone all guns blazing like he usually does and SRH will want their Australian star to be at the top of his game.
A defeat would put SRH in a tough situation. They will also have to be wary of their head-to-head record against Mumbai Indians. The team has won 10 out of their 24 matches while losing 14.
For Mumbai Indians, it is a perfect opportunity to test their resurgence in an away game before they return home to face Lucknow Super Giants in Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians have put their disappointing start to the IPL behind with three consecutive wins.
The five-time champions are coming off a massive nine-wicket hammering of Chennai Super Kings on a batting-friendly wicket on which they went over the line chasing a target near 180 with more than four overs to spare.
Rohit Sharma’s sensational 76 not out and Suryakumar Yadav’s 68 not out with all his trademark shots coming out fluently signalled the return to form of MI’s two batting pillars.
Tilak Varma did not get to bat against CSK but the left-hander has been in prime form, while Naman Dhir has shown signs of hitting his strides as a finisher alongside skipper Hardik Pandya.
Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t been at his menacing best when it comes to taking wickets but the ace India bowler has begun nailing his line and lengths perfectly.
This could be a warning sign for the SRH batters given MI tend to use Bumrah more strategically, with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar sharing the new ball.
The nature of the surface could have a bearing on the outcome with SRH’s two wins here coming on flat decks ensuring run-fests in their contests against Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings earlier.
Teams (from):
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby, Smaran Ravichandran, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Travis Head, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Wiaan Mulder, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
Match starts at 7:30pm IST.
