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Sunrisers take on mighty Mumbai Indians
Sunrisers Hyderabad have very little time to recover from back-to-back losses as they face another formidable challenge in the star-studded Mumbai Indians in their Pepsi IPL clash at the Rajiv Gandhi cricket stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The hosts would need to get their act together, especially in batting, to give the tough Mumbai Indians run for their money and regain the impressive form they showed in the first half of the tournament.
Mumbai Indians have 12 points from nine matches, while Sunrisers have 10 from nine games.
Sunrisers' batting is prime concern
Though bowling has been a big asset for the Sunrisers', batting has been the prime concern as witnessed in the match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kumar Sangakkara, G Hanuma Vihari, Karan Sharma and Thisara Perera failing to make an impact.
Similar was the tale in their match against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai when the Sunrisers' batsmen, barring Shikhar Dhawan, did not make the necessary contributions that would have made things difficult for the highly-competitive Super Kings.
Though the return of Dhawan, India's latest batting sensation, and West Indies Captain Darren Sammy has reinforced the Sunrisers batting, captain Kumar Sangakkara's poor form continues to be a cause for massive concern.
The team, however, can take pride in their quality bowling which comprises world's number one bowler, pacer Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, wily leg-spinner Amit Mishra, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera and Karan Sharma.
Mumbai Indians are on a roll
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are on a roll with stand-in captain Rohit Sharma and stars like legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard who can be a nightmare for any bowler.
The collective might of Smith, Pollard, Rohit Sharma and Tendulkar would make for an extremely tough challenge for the Sunrisers.
Mumbai Indians' bowling department is also star-studded with the presence of Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh and the likes of Dhawal Kulkarni and Mitchell Johnson.
But the Sunrisers would bank on the proverbial home advantage to upstage the giants that the Mumbai Indians are.
The Teams (from):
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Cameron White, Akshat Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplab Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, D B Ravi Teja, G H Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Nathan McCullum, Pathiv Patel, Prasant Padmanabhan, Quinton de Cock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, T Sargunam, Thisara Perera and Veer Pratap Singh.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Ricky Ponting, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Aditya Tare, Aiden Blizzard, Ambati Rayudu, Amitoze Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Harbhajan Singh, Jacob Oram, Jasprit Bumrah, Javed Khan, Jalaj Saxena, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Munaf Patel, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Phil Hughes, Pawan Suyal, Pragyan Ojha, Rishi Dhawan, Sachin Tendulkar, Suryakumar Yadav, Sushant Marathe and Yuzvendra Chahal.