Shaky Sunrisers Hyderabad to face mighty Mumbai Indians

Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians (MI) in an IPL encounter here today, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats. Chasing has been Sunrisers’ achilles’ heel during the first two matches, once again bringing under scanner, their […]

Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians (MI) in an IPL encounter here today, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.

Chasing has been Sunrisers’ achilles’ heel during the first two matches, once again bringing under scanner, their lack of depth in the playing XI and below-par Indian bench strength.

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In these circumstances, facing a formidable team like Mumbai Indians would be a difficult proposition.

For skipper Warner, there are some serious questions about the choice of the playing XI, which many believe haven’t been well thought out and the results also back that assessment.

Chennai track

Sunrisers Hyderabad

• The nature of the track is not great news for the Orange Army that failed to chase down a total which was less than 150.
• At times, it becomes imperative to play as late as possible and use the depth of the crease well, which Kane Williamson is adept at.

Mumbai Indians

• It is unlikely that Mumbai Indians will tinker with their playing XI and more so after winning a thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders at Chennai.
• They bowled amazingly to restrict KKR to 142 for 7 in 20 overs to record their first win in the second game.

Team Equation

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Batting line-up: With only Warner and Rashid Khan being certainties among the overseas players, a fit Kane Williamson is a must, factoring in his prowess against spin bowling.

The manner in which the likes of Manish Pandey and Abdul Samad played cross-batted shots against RCB left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed left Warner far from amused.

Bowling department: In case of Kedar Jadhav and Abhishek Sharma, they also provide the option of slow bowling – off-breaks for the veteran and slow left-arm orthodox for the youngster. T Natarajan not in the kind of form he was last season and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also on the expensive side.

Mumbai Indians

Batting line-up: Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul don’t inspire too much confidence when one looks at MI’s top-order comprising Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan.

Bowling unit: Krunal Pandya, who bowls a much flatter trajectory and also a few clicks quicker than Shahbaz, can make matters even worse for the Pandeys and Samads if SRH don’t come up with a better game plan.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): David Warner (C), Kane Williamson, Virat Singh, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Sreevats Goswami, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Kedar Jadhav, J Suchit, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mujeeb ur Rahman.