Both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians are in last chance saloon as they face off in the final league-stage match of the Indian Premier League.
At stake on Sunday are two invaluable points, which makes the match, to be played at 6.30pm UAE time at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, a virtual knockout. With both teams at 14 points from 13 matches, the only way a team is going to advance is by winning both the points on offer.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad could have sealed the deal in their match against Bangalore on Friday night, but needing to restrict their rivals to within 82 runs in six overs in a rain-interrupted match, they were hammered by the bi-hitting Bangalore openers Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli.
In the end, Hyderabad lost by six wickets despite putting up a challenging total of 135 in 11 overs, with captain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan once again doing a splendid job at the top of the order.
Their confidence would have taken a hit, but Sunrisers will take heart from the fact that they are back in their home ground. In the three matches they have played at the stadium in Uppal, they have won two and could have kept a 100 per cent winning record if not for the magical display from Virat Kohli the other night.
Warner is the leading batsman this IPL with 556 runs so far, and he is also on the verge of a personal milestone – a half-century on Sunday will bring him level with Chris Gayle’s record of most fifties in an IPL, which he set in 2012.
The good thing for Hyderabad is their middle-order batsmen, especially Moises Henriques and Eoin Morgan have rise to the challenge and made a valuable contribution to the team cause.
Mumbai, after the disastrous start when they lost their first four matches, have been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL and will reach Hyderabad on a high following their narrow five-run win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Lendl Simmons, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have been the pillars of Mumbai batting so far, while Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh have kept them competitive with their clever bowling.
