What

Sunrisers Hyderabad come calling on the Mumbai Indians in Match 23 of VIVO IPL 2018.

SRH won their first three matches, but have since lost back-to-back games – first against Kings XI Punja and most recently against Chennai Super Kings. SRH’s bowlers set up games beautifully in the first three matches, restricting their opponents to totals under 150. However, in the last couple of games, their bowlers have come in for some tap and SRH has ended up conceding totals of 192 & 182. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was conspicuous by his absence in the Sunrisers' touring squad, and if he isn't available for this match, SRH might look at bringing in Sandeep Sharma, who did well when filling in last time round.

Rashid Khan has had two poor matches now, and SRH will hope the leg-spinner can begin to work up his magic once again.

Mumbai Indians have one win from five matches – though with just a little bit of luck it could have been 5 from 5. Their four losses have been right at the post: the defending champions have suffered two last-ball defeats, one off the penultimate ball and were most recently denied with two balls remaining. The MI camp will be aware they haven’t done too much wrong – but have just failed to cling on and win the big moments. They need to start winning those big moments before it becomes too late.

When

24 April 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Impact Batsmen

Prior to the VIVO IPL 2018, Suryakumar Yadav almost always batted in the middle order – save the few innings he batted at number three. He even made a name for himself winning games for the Kolkata Knight Riders batting in the lower middle order. The Mumbai Indians though have pulled off a masterstroke by asking the 27-year old to open the innings – something he had never done in the past; in his three innings at the top of the order, Yadav has made scores of 53, 0 & 72 – his runs coming at a strike-rate of 156.25.MI will also want the left-handers at the top of the innings – Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan – to contribute big scores.

Given the make-up of their squad, the fact that he opens at the top of the innings and that he is in form, Shikhar Dhawan is the Sunrisers’ biggest match-winner. The left-hander missed the previous match after the blow he took on his elbow against KXIP did not heal, but it is expected that he will return to the line-up. But even without a contribution from him and even in his absence, SRH were able to compile decent scores against KXIP and CSK – courtesy skipper Kane Williamson, who has now scored half-centuries in the last three innings.

Impact Bowlers

Among the handful of exciting bowlers likely to play in this match, watch out for Jasprit Bumrah (MI). Bumrah has had two good games in a row, returning identical figures of 2-28 when RCB and RR made scores in excess of 165. The one area that Bumrah needs to tighten up immediately is on bowling No Balls; the 24-year old stepped over the line at a crucial juncture in the previous match and needs to ensure he doesn’t do it ever again.

Also look out for the two leggies – Mayank Markande (MI) and Rashid Khan (SRH) – for who the wickets have dried up very recently.After collecting 7 wickets in his first two matches, Markande has only managed one wicket in his next three matches, conceding runs at over nine runs per over. Rashid Khan has come in for plenty of tap in the last couple of matches – returning figures of 1-55 and 1-49.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 11, Mumbai Indians won – 5, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 6

At the Wankhede Stadium: Matches – 3, Mumbai Indians won – 3, Sunrisers Hyderabad – 0

Trivia

Shikhar Dhawan has outstanding numbers against the Mumbai Indians; in 11 matches he has played for SRH against MI, he has scored 431 runs at a strike-rate of 133.85, and has an average of 53.87.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s numbers against the Mumbai Indians are outstanding; in 12 IPL matches against MI, he has collected 16 wickets, and has an economy rate of 5.64.

The Mumbai Indians haven’t been to finish their innings with a flourish this season; in their five matches, they’ve lost 16 wickets in the death overs, while only scoring at a rate of 8.88 runs per over. SRH have fared only slightly better, scoring at 9.17 in the final five overs.

What Next

The Mumbai Indians will head down south to take on the Chennai Super Kings in the next fixture; the match will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 28. Sunrisers Hyderabad meanwhile head back home and play host to Kings XI Punjab on April 26.