The Mumbai Indians will lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 37 of the VIVO IPL 2016 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam. Both teams are currently performing quite well despite having started off their respective campaigns on a poor note. While Mumbai lost their opening match of the tournament, the Sunrisers had a worse start by conceding their first two games in the 2016 IPL. The defending champions have won 5 out of the 9 matches they have played so far and are placed 5th in the points table. The Hyderabad side has also won the same number of matches but has played one match less and occupies the 4th position on the basis of a superior run-rate. It is a crucial match for both teams as they will be looking to move one step closer to a spot in the playoffs.
Here’s how the Mumbai Indians may line up for this all-important clash:
Batting
The batting has centered mainly around the exploits of skipper Rohit Sharma for the Mumbai Indians this season. Rohit has been in exceptional form, scoring 383 runs in 9 matches so far and has played a few match-winning knocks. Ambati Rayudu, too, has proved his mettle by putting up an impressive tally of 271 runs and providing much-needed support to his captain.
Even though they have not excelled as much as Sharma or Rayudu, the likes of Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler have put together some useful runs which have served the team’s purpose quite well. Kieron Pollard had been struggling to score in the first few matches of the season but he has recovered from his bad patch and has played a couple of explosive innings in recent matches.
Although the MI batting line-up has been pretty impressive thus far, they will need to do well consistently if the team wants to stay in the race for defending its title.
All-rounders
The all-rounders have performed moderately well for the Mumbai Indians in the current IPL season. Krunal Pandya has been the surprise element in the Mumbai team and has done well with both bat and ball. His 111 runs in the tournament have come at a lethal strike rate of slightly under 182 and he has an economy rate of under 8.
His younger brother Hardik Pandya, though, has failed to live up to the expectations from him as he has been quite ordinary in both departments, more so with the bat. Pollard has not bowled much this year but he may be needed to pitch in when required.
Bowling
Mitchell McCleanaghan has been Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker in this year’s IPL with 13 wickets in 9 matches and an economy rate of under 8. He has formed a great pair with Indian pace bowling sensation Jasprit Bumrah, who has continued to impress with 11 wickets till now. They have received some fine support from the experienced Tim Southee, who has 7 scalps from his 8 games.
The spin attack has been a cause for concern with ace spinner Harbhajan Singh struggling to get things right. The veteran offie has got just 5 wickets thus far and has given away quite a few runs with an economy of over 8. Most of the other spinners in the MI squad have not been given too many chances to perform this season. For the 2015 IPL champions to perform even better going forward, the spinners will need to step up and give the pace bowlers adequate support.
Probable Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McCleanaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.
Here’s what the team that represents Sunrisers Hyderabad may look like:
Batting
Skipper David Warner has been the star for the Sunrisers as far as their batting is concerned. The southpaw has been in superb form and already has a tally of 410 runs in the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan has provided Warner some good support at the top of the order with 228 runs at an average of just under 46. Kiwi batsman Kane Williamson also shined in his first game of the 2016 IPL as he hit a quickfire 50 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore team.
Eoin Morgan, who played in the first 6 matches for the Sunrisers, scored 109 runs but struggled to get going on most occasions. The returning Yuvraj Singh also failed to perform in his first match for SRH as he fell for 5 off 14 deliveries. The batting has largely been struggling apart from the opening batsmen and the Hyderabad team will need to improve on this aspect if they want to continue with their winning form.
All-rounders
The all-rounders have underperformed to quite an extent for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. The biggest name in terms of all-rounders, Moises Henriques, has performed quite averagely with 96 runs and 5 wickets in his kitty. The likes of Deepak Hooda and Ashish Reddy have also not been able to live up to their all-rounder tag. The SRH side will need their all-rounders to do a better job in order to strengthen their chances of making it to the playoffs.
Bowling
The Sunrisers Hyderabad pace attack has easily been among the best in the tournament this year. The duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman has undone the opposition batsmen with the swing and variations that have been on display. While Bhuvneshwar has been the top wicket-taker for SRH with 12 wickets, Rahman has picked up 10 wickets and has conceded his runs at a miserly economy rate of just 6.23.
Left-arm seamer Barinder Sran has been a good support bowler for Bhuvi and Mustafizur with 6 wickets in the season. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra has not claimed too many wickets but has carried out the mentor role with great aplomb. The spinners have not played much for the Sunrisers in the 2016 IPL but they will have to be up to the task when there is a requirement.
Probable Playing XI
David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman.
