After four matches on the road, Mumbai Indians return home for our last two league matches of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. We take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday and will be looking to beat them for the second time this season. A win against SRH guarantees us a playoff spot with a game in hand, however, a loss will see SRH leapfrog us in the standings on net run rate. Despite a defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous match, MI will be confident about a victory against SRH having beaten them earlier in the season. SRH, on the other hand, won their last match against Kings XI Punjab and will be eager to rise above us in the points table.

Head-to-head

MI 6-7 SRH

Form Guide (Last 5 Games)

Mumbai Indians: L W L W W

Sunrisers Hyderabad: W L L W W

From the MI dugout

The boys will relish playing in front of our home fans after two weeks on the road. Our time away from the Wankhede saw many players find some form. Skipper Rohit Sharma got his first fifty of the year and Evin Lewis didn’t disappoint during the limited opportunities he received. Our most consistent batsman Quinton de Kock has also managed to maintain his form for most of the competition, while Suryakumar Yadav has floated in the middle order in the past few games. On the bowling front, spinner Rahul Chahar has emerged as one of our main wicket-taking threats alongside Jasprit Bumrah, who has taken 13 scalps so far – the most by an MI player.  

Key Player

Hardik Pandya has been MI’s player of the season so far and will be our main threat against SRH. The 25-year-old all-rounder has been in sensational form with both bat and ball. He’s scored 355 runs and taken 10 wickets to become our most consistent performer of the season. The last match against KKR saw him smash the fastest fifty of the IPL season from just 17 balls. His 34-ball 91 against KKR, in fact, will live long in the memory of the spectators who were present to witness it. Hardik will want to carry that momentum from Kolkata into the game against SRH and produce a similar display on Thursday.

From the SRH dugout

With first-choice opening pair David Warner and Jonny Bairstow both unavailable due to national duty, SRH’s top order will certainly be a bit unsettled. Having said that, Hyderabad have experienced campaigners like skipper Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha to fill that void. They also have talented individuals like Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar and Mohammad Nabi in their middle order. Shankar and Nabi are useful with the ball in hand as well, making their bowling unit a rather formidable one with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma also being a part of it. 

Key Player

SRH’s trump card though has to be Rashid Khan, who is still a force to be reckoned with despite not reaching the heights of his displays from last season. Their top wicket-taker with 14 scalps this year, Rashid looked to be back to his best in Hyderabad’s last game as he bamboozled Kings XI Punjab’s batsmen to finish with figures of 3 for 21. Even though he hasn’t been in the best of form, it’s worth pointing out that his economy of 6.18 is still one of the best, while his average of 21.21 isn’t bad either.