What

Match 23 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will feature the Mumbai Indians pitted against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

MI lie at the floor of the standings with just one victory from six outings. After losing four matches on the bounce, Rohit Sharma’s team posted a comprehensive victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore to open their account. But they couldn’t carry that momentum into their next match as they were blown away by the Delhi Daredevils in their next match. There is enough ammunition in the batting department – even if it did not fire in the previous match, but it is the bowling department that needs to get its act together. The lowest total that MI have conceded in their six matches so far is 165 – and that clearly indicates the area that needs addressing.

Sunrisers Hyderabad head into this contest fresh from a win over Kolkata Knight Riders. They have two wins from five matches, lie mid-table and look to make a climb up the ladder quickly. On the eve of the match, SRH mentor VVS Laxman told the media that his team were focussing on executing their plans. He said, “Whenever you execute the plans, invariably the result goes your way. We want to emphasise on executing plans. If the players play their role to perfection, the results will be taken care of.”

When

25 April 2015, 4p.m. IST

Where

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

The Protagonists

He is the most gifted and skilled batsman in the Mumbai Indians ranks, has the most international experience, has the confidence of runs behind him, and has finished the innings as top-scorer more than any other player in the current Mumbai Indians team. Rohit Sharma, therefore, is the most important batsman in the MI lineup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad need runs from their opening pair of David Warner and Shikhar. Chances are SRH will prevail most often on days when either or both the left-handers get going – just like the other day against the Kolkata Knight Riders. On the bowling front, Dale Steyn’s four overs will play a huge role in dictating how SRH fare in the match. In a chat with the media on the eve of the match, mentor VVS Laxman indicated there could be a possibility of the team fielding Trent Boult as Steyn’s new-ball partner.

Contests to look-forward to

The contest between MI’s Rohit Sharma and SRH’s Dale Steyn is one to look out for. The Mumbai Indians off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bowling to the Sunrisers Hyderabad opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner also promises to make for an interesting battle.

Previous Meetings

The Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad have won two matches apiece in contests between the two teams.

In the first meeting between the two teams last season, SRH rode on a 111-run stand between KL Rahul and David Warner to post 172 runs on the board, after which they restricted MI to 157-7 to win by 15 runs. In the second meeting in Hyderabad, MI rode on half-centuries by Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu, and their 130-run partnership, to chase down the target of 158.

Trivia

Harbhajan Singh has gone wicket-less in three of the four matches he has played against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The batsmen dismissed by Harbhajan Singh in Pepsi IPL 2015 are: Manish Pandey, Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Manvinder Bisla, Chris Gayle and Rilee Rossouw.

Rohit Sharma needs 70 more runs to score 1000 IPL runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. From 30 innings at the venue, he has 930 IPL runs scored at a strike-rate of 138.59.

The Mumbai Indians have lost 11 wickets to spinners so far in Pepsi IPL 2015 – of which 8 have been to leg-spinners.

David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan have opened the innings for SRH eight times; three of those innings were century partnerships, while two other partnerships were worth at least 50 runs. Not other opening pair in the IPL has been involved in three century partnerships.

What Next

Mumbai Indians will remain at home and take on the Rajasthan Royals next on May 1, while Sunrisers Hyderabad head to Mohali for their clash against Kings XI Punjab on April 27.