In the 23rd match of on Tuesday, efending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. MI skipper Rohit Sharma would be under extreme pressure, after his team's dismal show in the tournamet so far -- they have lost four of the five matches they have played so far and are placed at the 7th spot in the
Mumbai Indians had started their IPL 2018 campaign with three losses on the trot before a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the three-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, their fourth last-over setback, put them under tremendous pressure. With nine games left before the play-off stage, Mumbai Indians find themselves in a difficult situation, as they need to win at least seven of them to improve their chances. As such, a win over SRH in today’s match will be imperative for them to be able to stay in the hunt. MI's campaign has so far seen few bright spots, such as local player and opener Suryakumar Yadav, the team's most consisten batsman who is only four runs short of the 200 mark in IPL 2018.
However, lack of runs from Rohit Sharma, barring the one has hurt the three-time champions and they need their inspirational captain to bounce back with a big knock against SRH. Another major disappointment for the team has been the big West Indian Kieron Pollard, who has put only 54 runs against his name in five games. He is in danger of being left out to warm the bench. His Trinidadian's compatriot Evin Lewis has not been a complete let-down, but his performance cannot be called outstanding, either. The Pandya brothers -- Hardik and Krunal -- have not sparkled with the bat. Mumbai Indians have so far not made too many changes to their playing eleven; they might seriously consider that before it is too late.
Meanwhile, despite a three-match winning streak, Sunrisers Hyderabad find themselves in the lower half of the Vivo IPL points table, thanks to their successive defeats to Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings. While captain Kane Williamson has been in a superb form, carrying the team's batting on his shoulders, amassing 230 runs in five games, the other batsmen, including opener Shikhar Dhawan, have not given him enough support. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has been particularly sub-par with a tally of just 62 runs and might have to soon make way for Shreevats Goswami. Among other batsmen, Yusuf Pathan showed glimpses of his old attacking self against Rajasthan with a quick 27-ball 45, but he still lacks consistency.
Here are a few things to know before the Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (MI vs SRH) match to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who said what before the clash:
For MI, the two youngsters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan has been brilliant at the top of the batting line. They came together at the crucial stages of the game and had some good handy partnership to lift the batting of Mumbai Indians. While captain Rohit Sharma has failed to make any impression in IPL 2018 barring 94 against RCB. Evin Lewis looked good at the top of the order but failed to give Mumbai Indians a good start consistently in IPL 2018.
Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen who might make an impact in today’s match against MI: For SRH the major worry is their opening stand barring Shikhar Dhawan not any batsmen give any spirited performance at the top of the order. The left-hander missed the previous match after the blow he took on his elbow against KXIP did not heal, but it is expected that he will return to the line-up. Captain Kane Williamson is the lone ranger at the top of the order as he is also a contender of orange cap.
Mumbai Indians bowlers to look forward to today: In the bowling department, the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman have been right on the money while Mitchell McClenaghan has got among the wickets despite finishing with a higher economy rate. The Pandya siblings have done a decent job with the ball. Mayank Markande did well with his leg spinning deliveries but wickets have dried up in recent games for him. After collecting 7 wickets in his first two matches, Markande has only managed one wicket in his next three matches, conceding runs at over nine runs per over.
The bowling unit of Sunrisers Hyderabad looks formidable with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the pack in the company of youngsters Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake and T.Natarajan. Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan along with Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan will aim to contain the fancied Mumbai line-up in the middle overs. Rashid Khan needs to find his form as he has leaked a lot of runs after Gayle storm against KXIP. Rashid Khan has come in for plenty of tap in the last couple of matches – returning figures of 1-55 and 1-49.
What Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said on the eve of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad: So far whatever is happening with Mumbai Indians, it is not going the way we want to. But I think we will turn things around like we have done it in the past. Hopefully, we can turn it around this time, the Rohit said on Monday. He was referring to the 2015 season when MI lost five out of their first six matches before making a stunning late charge to their second IPL title.
What James Faulkner said about SRH bowling line-up: Australian all-rounder James Faulkner feels Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have the strongest bowling attack in IPL 2018 with the likes of in-form pacer Bhuvneswar Kumar and leg spinner Rashid Khan in their rank. "I think the strongest one (in term of bowling attack) has to be Sunrisers (Hyderabad). Bhuvneswar Kumar has been in great form for a couple of IPLs, (so) that will be my number one," the 27-year-old Faulkner said.
What James Faulkner said about MI bowling line-up: Faulkner rated Mumbai Indian's (MI) bowling attack as the "second best" in the tournament, saying they have two good death bowlers. "Mumbai have got two good death bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah and Mustifizur Rahman), they are probably the (number) two (second best)," he opined. Asked about Bumrah’s performance Faulkner said, “It is very unfair to say he (Bumrah) is out of form. When you start your career, people tend to look at you a bit more. He bowls the hardest overs, he bowls the death overs, in the Indian team as well. Any day where he goes under 40 runs, he has a good day. The media has been harsh on him, they (have) to understand he is bowling the hardest overs.”
After howlers, umpires told to be more vigilant: Taking strong exception to a few umpiring howlers in the ongoing IPL, the league's chairman Rajiv Shukla is learnt to have told match referees to speak to umpires about staying more vigilant during matches. "These things do happen sometimes but still the IPL chairman has spoken to match referees and asked them to speak to the umpires," a source close to Shukla said on the sidelines of the match between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils tonight. The match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad saw a seven-ball over two weeks ago. There was a clear no ball bowled during the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, but it escaped the umpire's attention.
What former Pakistan coach Lawson said about the bowling lot in IPL 2018: Former Australia fast bowler Geoff Lawson expressed anguish at a hapless lot of the bowlers in T20 cricket around the world, especially in the Indian Premier League, and said it was imperative to get them back into the game to render it more balanced. "Bowlers have been excluded from the game, it's ridiculous. It's not a contest anymore. That's why IPL has gone for a six. We need to get the bowlers back in the game. We need to have a contest," said Lawson here after delivering the '2nd Rajsingh Dungarpur Spirit of Cricket' lecture at the Cricket Club of India. Explaining further the 60-year-old former national coach of Pakistan said, "The new bats are this big (indicating with hand) on the edges. We need to make the wide zones wider."
How Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians have fared in head-to-head comparisons in the IPL matches so far:
Overall
Matches played: 11
Mumbai Indians won: 5
Sunrisers Hyderabad won: 6
At Wankhede Stadium:
Matches played: 3
Mumbai Indians won: 3
Sunrisers Hyderabad won: 0
Some trivia ahead of today’s match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians