Match Preview: Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

The game, which is set to be played in Mumbai’s ‘home’ of Visakhapatnam, could go a long way to deciding who advances to the play-offs. The Sunrisers are boosted by the return of Yuvraj Singh, who played a largely peripheral role in one of the more interesting subplots in the Sunrisers’ encounter against the Lions, while their bowling has never looked more deadly.

Mumbai, on the other hand, will be looking to captain Rohit Sharma for another barnstorming innings if they are to stand a chance of winning this game. Besides the skipper, Mumbai also have a talented bowling attack of their own to match that of their opponents, led by the Kiwi duo of Mitchell McClenaghan and Tim Southee.

A win for either side would put them on twelve points, level with the Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders, who play each other immediately after this encounter. Should the Delhi Daredevils win their game, scheduled for Saturday evening, there could be three teams on twelve points each, one on fourteen points and another on ten.

KEY BATTLES

Rohit Sharma vs Mustafizur Rahman: Another excellent containing display against the Lions further enhanced Mustafizur’s already immense reputation. More than his wicket-taking, it is the left-arm seamer’s ability to stifle opposing batsman that has proven invaluable. Rohit Sharma has a task on his hands but will certainly not back down from the challenge.

David Warner vs Mitchell McClenaghan: Although Warner’s innings in his previous outing was somewhat brief (a 17-ball 24), it was packed with typical fury and aggression. Mitchell McClenaghan performed admirably against the Rising Pune Supergiants (4-0-27-1, plus 12 dot balls), and watching him wage a war of attrition against his trans-Tasman foe should prove fascinating.

WATCH OUT FOR

Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur bowl well in tandem

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: While Mustafizur’s precocious talent continues to make waves, he is but one half of a bowling tandem. Bhuvneshwar bowled superbly against the Gujarat Lions, notching not only two wickets but also a maiden over. Mustafizur might be in the shop window, but Bhuvneshwar is the goods in the back. Together they can cause the Mumbai batsmen to swipe at thin air.

EXPECTED XIs

Mumbai should see no reason to tamper unnecessarily with a winning team. Perhaps the batting order could see a shuffle to counter the Sunrisers’ bowling threat to make critical gains in the powerplay.

Parthiv Patel (wk), Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan

Sunrisers Hyderabad should follow much the same logic in not trying to change a winning team around too much. With Yuvraj Singh’s return, he is likely to keep his place, but should the Sunrisers wish to reintegrate Ashish Reddy back in, Deepak Hooda appears the most expendable.

David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha (wk), Deepak Hooda/Ashish Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra

STRAIGHT FROM TWITTER