How can a broken heart be mend?
After suffering heartbreaking opening losses, this may be one of the most searched-for items by Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad supporters as they prepare for Wednesday’s IPL 2024 match.
With 12 losses in the first round since 2013, MI supporters would have been used to seeing their club lose, but the way the match was handled by Gujarat Titans would have wounded them just as much as the squad. MI were cruising along at 162/9 when the Titans gave them a scare with 48 needing off the final six overs in a chase of 169.
Even more impressive was the SRH performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders. After being reduced to 111/4 after 14 overs, they were chasing an enormous 209 and required 60 in the final four overs. The hopes were revived by Heinrich Klaasen and Shahbaz Ahmed, who even managed to reduce the score to 7 off 5 before Harshit Rana devised the silencing move.
Hence, from a cricketing standpoint, the easiest method to answer the question at the top would be to secure a win as soon as possible. Having defeated SRH in their previous two meetings, MI holds a modest advantage after easily defeating a target of 201 in Hyderabad. SRH lost that game, one of their six home losses from the previous season. They will be eager to make amends and get off to a good start in their opening game of the current season.
When: March 27, Wednesday, 19:30 IST
Where: Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium
What to expect: In the previous season, 180 or more was a par total here, indicating that the pitches have encouraged a fair battle between bat and ball.
In the head-to-head match, MI has 12 wins against SRH’s 9. Since the 2020 Indian Premier League, MI has defeated SRH five times out of seven.
Group observation:
Hyderabad’s Sunrisers
Injury/Availability: Captain Pat Cummins stated that Wanindu Hasaranga is not available for the match, saying, “He’s definitely not in India.” I believe he is visiting a specialist. I’m hoping to learn more about him in the coming days.”
Strategies & Matchups: SRH may benefit from using Cummins and Washington Sundar early. In the IPL, Sundar has claimed Rohit’s wicket three times, while Cummins has removed Ishan Kishan four times. From SRH’s perspective, Bhuvneshwar vs. Hardik Pandya is also a strong matchup because the veteran pacer has already removed the MI captain twice.
Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, and T Natarajan are the probable members of the starting eleven. [Abhishek Sharma fills in for Natarajan on Impact].
Indians from Mumbai
Injury/Availability: The Mumbai Indians are still waiting on word from the National Cricket Academy regarding Suryakumar Yadav’s participation in the IPL, hence he is still unavailable.
Strategies & Matchups: Piyush Chawla might be a solid choice against Mayank Agarwal, who has a strike rate of 111.39 against right-arm legspinners and has been dismissed nine times since the IPL 2021. Having taken three wickets in 16 deliveries against the opener, Jasprit Bumrah also has a strong chance. Though Heinrich Klaasen has amassed 648 runs at a strike rate of 190.32 against slower bowlers in T20 cricket since January 2023, they might be cautious about applying too much spin against him. Having said that, he has also been removed from the game nine times by spinners, four of those times being due to right-arm wrist spin.
The probable starting eleven are: Tim David, Shams Mulani, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, and Hardik Pandya (c). [Dewald Brevis for Wood, Impact sub].
Were you aware?
Following a stellar 2022 IPL season in which he amassed 413 runs at a 158.24 strike rate, Rahul Tripathi has found it difficult to establish a presence. He only managed one fifty in the 2023 Indian Premier League and had a mediocre domestic season for Goa, scoring one fifty or more in just 19 innings across all formats. He has a 19.11 IPL average in Hyderabad.
– Jasprit Bumrah, behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar, is just two wickets away from being the second Indian pacer to reach 150 wickets in the IPL.
What did they say?
“It seems like the IPL is always about the teams that have performed well and the need to fortify your house.” Our squad includes a few seasoned players who have participated in numerous games here. We’ll make use of that knowledge. “Winning at home is really important,” said SRH skipper Pat Cummins.
