Match number seventeen of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see the Mumbai Indians host the Sunrisers Hyderabad (MI vs SRH) at Sharjah. Two teams with two wins each come head to head at a ground which always promises exciting cricket.
This MI vs SRH fixture over the years has been too close to call and the head-to-head stats between the two reflects that. Sunrisers have won seven games against the Mumbai Indians but the defending champions will be looking to get even on this front in this match.
KEY BATTLE
Rohit Sharma vs David Warner
The battle between the two men who matter the most in MI vs SRH can help dictate the way the match will pan out.
Rohit Sharma has had a dismal record against SRH having scored 217 runs at an average of 19.73. This is his worst return against any IPL team and has scored just one fifty plus score against the Sunrisers. Barring his highest score of 67 against SRH he has never managed to reach the 30-run mark against this opponent.
With Bhuvneshwar Kumar out injured, one can expect Sandeep Sharma to be his natural replacement. His brilliant record against the ‘Hitman’ can also boost his chances of playing in this match. Rohit averages 14.5 and a strike rate of just 88 against Sandeep and he’ll look to get his nemesis yet again in this match. Given the quality Rohit Sharma has it’s difficult to imagine him failing in any innings but this could be a difficult fixture for the Mumbai captain.
David Warner has scored 115 runs in four innings so far; he has got starts but has not managed big scores for which he is known. Warner has an average of 28.75, his lowest since IPL 2011, in his last 5 IPL seasons Warner’s lowest average was 43.23 highlighting his incredible consistency.
Warner has also failed to score quickly managing a strike rate of 117.35, his lowest in any IPL campaign. He has played circumspectly so far in the IPL given the weak middle order SRH had coming into the IPL. But with the youngsters in Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad stepping up in the previous match, you can expect David Warner to be back at his lethal best soon.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Rahul Chahar
Going into this IPL in the UAE there were some concerns with the spin department of the Mumbai Indians. It seems like Rahul Chahar has put those concerns to bed with some good performances in the previous matches. His six wickets in the IPL so far is second best for any spinner.
Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has been given the role of the number three batsman in that SRH line-up. So far he hasn’t done justice to this role but his quality is way too much for him to underperform. He’ll love batting at a small ground like Sharjah and can expect him to be amongst runs in this match.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
MI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
SRH: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma
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