IPL 2020: Match 17, MI vs SRH – SRH Predicted Playing XI

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had a nightmarish start to the season. Two close losses in their first two games and with batting not firing and the bowling also not up to the mark – things looked quite gloomy for them initially. However, they seemed to have made up for the shortcomings and won two back-to-back games in a row. They also managed to get the better of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), against whom they have a very poor record.

These wins will give them a lot of confidence going to Sharjah to play the game against the Mumbai Indians (MI). Yet, there are a few concerns. Playing at a batting paradise, they will need their experienced batsmen to fire in all cylinders. Moreover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar seemed to have an issue with his hamstring during the last game and pulled out in the penultimate over. While that could be one forced change, will SRH make any other amends to their line-up?

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for MI vs SRH:

Openers (Jonny Bairstow (wk), David Warner (c))

The pair of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner were brilliant last year. In the 10 innings where they opened the batting, this duo added 791 runs together. This included three consecutive century partnerships in the first three games. They were involved in 7 50+ partnerships including 4 100+ partnerships. Hence, quite evidently, SRH looked to be a very dominant side.

However this season, they have struggled. Their opening partnership this year are 18, 24, 77 and 1 this season. Only on one occasion, this duo managed to go past the 25-run mark together. Since SRH are extremely dependent on them with the bat, these outcomes have been worrisome. Such performances won’t help at a venue like Sharjah and hence they must be at their best and give a big headstart to the team with the bat.

Middle Order (Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg)

Manish Pandey, too, scored 344 runs last season at an average of 43 last season. However, his average has come down to 29 this season and the strike rate has dipped to 121. Every team would want their number three batsman to provide a solid platform and play the long knock. But with Manish, it hasn’t been really encouraging so far and he’d like to improve upon that. Kane Williamson, at number four, is quite a good option despite the unfortunate run-out in the last match.

The young troika of Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg has been doing a fine job for the team. Both Garg and Sharma rose up to the occasion in the last match when the team was in a spot of both with the former even registering his maiden IPL fifty. Abdul Samad will take up the role of a finisher and has done with his part-time bowling and likewise with Abhishek.

Bowlers (Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed)

Rashid Khan has been fabulous with the ball. As he said after the last game, his main focus is to deliver four economical overs for his team. With the teams not taking many risks against him, he hasn’t got as many wickets but would like to fill up that column as well. Bhuvneshwar Kumar injured his hamstring in the last match and there is a great possibility that he will be rested. Siddarth Kaul will most likely replace him as he is good at the death as well.

T Natarajan and Khaleel Ahmed will be the two left-armers in the line-up. Both of them are good with the ball and pick up some important wickets for the team. However, they should work on the rates at which they concede the runs and must try to build the pressure on the batsmen even though that will be a tough task while playing in Sharjah.