IPL 2018 preview: Leg-spinner Mayank Markande raises Mumbai Indians hopes as they play Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ajit Vijaykumar 14:04 11/04/2018
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  • Mayank Markande had a dream debut for Mumbai Indians. Image: BCCI.

    Defending champions Mumbai Indians thought they had the opening match of IPL 2018 in the bag before Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Dwayne Bravo hit 68 off 30 balls to pull off a one-wicket win.

    Recovering from that shock result won’t be an easy task as they travel to face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, who started their season with a thoroughly one-sided nine wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.

    TALKING POINTS

    Mumbai Indians have one major concern. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (1-37), Mustafizur Rahman (1-39) and Mitchell McClenaghan (1-44) were taken to the cleaners by Bravo. When all three premier pacers have a bad day, it’s almost impossible to recover. Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the IPL so it’s not as if Mumbai have a lot of options in that department.

    Opening batsmen Evin Lewis and Rohit Sharma failed in the opening game and if one of them fires against Sunrisers, it will ease the pressure on the middle order. All-rounder Hardik Pandya’s fitness will be another concern after his ankle injury in the opening game.

    The Sunrisers, on the other hand, hardly put a foot wrong against the Royals. Fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake were outstanding and the spin duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan were on the mark straightaway.

    Shikhar Dhawan’s fifty settled any nerves in the dressing room in the absence of franchise backbone David Warner.

    PLAYERS IN FOCUS

    Mumbai leg-spinner Mayank Markande made a lasting impression on his IPL debut. He got three wickets off googlies, including MS Dhoni. He was a bit of an unknown in the opening match but the opposition will not take him lightly anymore. How he manages in this new position will show what he is made of.

    Australian fast bowler Billy Stanlake looks like he will be by far the quickest bowler this IPL as Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins are all injured. He consistently bowled above 145kph against the Royals and if he manages to keep Rohit and Lewis quiet, or even get them out, that would mean job done.

    LIKELY LINE-UPS

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake

    Mumbai Indians: Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mustafizur Rehman, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande

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