IPL 2018, Match 7 SRH vs MI, Preview: Mumbai aim to park misery aside against resilient Sunrisers

Mumbai Indians (MI) were the firm favourites against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), however, slumped during the crunch moments of the game, which saw them end on the losing side. On the contrary, Sunrisers Hyderabad parked aside the disappointment of David Warner’s exclusion from the team and strung together a clinical show to beat a lacklustre Rajasthan Royals.

Both teams would now be pitted against each other at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Mumbai, undoubtedly, have some explosive ammunition in their lineup, but overhauling the home team won’t be a stroll in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Kane Williamson, who led the Sunrisers for the maiden occasion, presented a composed temperament.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, looked a little out of sorts, especially with the willow and would be hoping to get his team to their opening victory. The pitch at the venue is again expected to favour the batsmen and bowlers are likely to have a tough day at the office. Meanwhile, the teams would definitely want to chase from what has been the trend thus far in the earlier games.

Toss: SRH won the toss and elected to field first

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Billy Stanlake, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mayank Markande, Pradeep Sangwan, Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah

MI: Pradeep Sangwan comes in for the injured Hardik Pandya. Ben Cutting takes Mitchell McClenaghan’s place.

SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury forces Sandeep Sharma to come in

Team Combination

Sunrisers Hyderabad

After a dominating performance last time around, the Sunrisers are highly unlikely to make any changes to the eleven. Wriddhiman Saha faltered at the top, but it will be unfair if he is dropped after one failure. Shikhar Dhawan and Williamson remain to be the backbone of the team. The franchise would also like to test out Pandey, Yusuf, Hooda, and Shakib as the tournament progresses.

The bowling armoury dished out a comprehensive show as every bowler contributed with at least a wicket. The spinners in Shakib and Rashid Khan have the potential to bamboozle the best batsmen in the business. Bhuvneshwar and Billy Stanlake also kept the batsmen in check from unleashing their range of strokes.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai, despite their defeat, won’t be willing to change the lineup just yet. Rohit and Evin Lewis still remains to be one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in the league. Also, it was heartening to see Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan delivering when the team required them the most. Krunal and Hardik along will Kieron Pollard, who was slated to come at number seven, adds to the depth of their batting.

The bowling lineup looks in good shape as well. Mayank Markande emerged as a handy prospect with his bag of tricks. He along with Krunal Pandya, who didn’t get to bowl against Chennai, might need to step up against the hosts. Mustafizur Rahman, who stumbled against Kedar Jadhav, needs to deliver.  Jasprit Bumrah will also want to shrug off the disappointing performance against CSK.

Players to watch out for

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled decently against the Royals. However, he wasn’t able to make early inroads into the lineup for which he is known for. Mumbai Indians batsmen strained against genuine pace early in the innings and Bhuvi has every chance of rattling them with his ability to jag the ball both ways as he has done on so many occasions in the tournament.  

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is renowned for churning out Yorkers with sheer ease, but Dwayne Bravo made a mockery of his bowling and smashed him three times into the stands. Nevertheless, the Sunrisers can’t afford to undermine him by any means. The Gujarat speedster would wish to get back into rhythm at the earliest and help his franchise restrict the opposition batsmen.

Head to Head

Played- 10 Sunrisers Hyderabad – 5, Mumbai Indians- 5, NR/Tie-  0

Stat Attack

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa Movies (Telegu), Star Sports Tamil

Online– Hotstar & YuppTv

Match Timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

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