Pitch in focus as Sunrisers takes on Mumbai Indians on April 23

One of the harsh realities for Sunrisers this season has been its inconsistent batting displays on pitches which were conducive either to some late movement or the ball coming off slow off the pitch or being spin-friendly.

Hyderabad: By all means, the pitch will be in focus when former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad take on a rejuvenated Mumbai Indians in the IPL league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night.

One of the harsh realities for Sunrisers this season has been its inconsistent batting displays on pitches which were conducive either to some late movement or the ball coming off slow off the pitch or being spin-friendly.

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The batting might of the Sunrisers was on full display only in two games this season and that too at home on a belter of a wicket – in the first one when Ishan Kishan scored a century on IPL debut for Sunrisers – and then against Punjab Kings when Abhishek Sharma made a mockery of what looked a challenging target of 246 with a blistering century.

So, it will be interesting to see the kind of pitch that Y.L. Chandrasekhar and his team prepares for the big clash – perhaps one last must-win game if Sunrisers (ninth in points table with two wins from seven games) were to fight back and start looking at the daunting task of winning at least six wins of the seven games to move to the play-offs.

It is not just batting woes for the home team on bowler-friendly pitches but even the bowling was certainly not equal to the task with captain Pat Cummins continuing to be the spearhead, even as he was also hit all over in a couple of games. The strike power and the variations seem to be missing both in pace and spin for Sunrisers.

Definitely, Mumbai’s confidence should be on a high after three consecutive wins and more importantly India’s best white-ball batter Rohit Sharma returning to form.

Certainly, Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai (sixth placed with four wins from eight games) cannot be a push-over given the depth in batting and also the kind of reputation it has, winning the IPL five times .

From the fans perspective, hometown hero and southpaw Tilak Verma could be a major attraction given the way he grew in stature at the highest level.

If the pitch is batter friendly, then it will be a real test for the bowlers from both the teams. By all means, it is one of those games which fans should love to watch given the presence of high-profile names in the line-ups.