 "IPL 2023: MI vs SRH: Frantic Mumbai eyes giant victory over lowly Hyderabad to brace playoffs odds")
synopsis
IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians will play host to SunRisers Hyderabad on Sunday. While the former will aim for an oversized success, the latter will look to finish the season on a high by acting as a party spoiler.
Five-time former record champion Mumbai Indians (MI) will be desperate for a victory by a big margin over wooden spooners SunRrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, in what could also be its last outing in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). While SRH is already ruled out of the race to the playoffs, MI, which has a last chance left, will be keen to make the most of its excellent show here at the Wankhede Stadium this season and bolster its chances of qualification.
With four wins and two defeats, MI has certainly taken full advantage of their home ground, something that Rohit Sharma's men would want to continue, as they also have the final opportunity to improve their Net Run Rate (NRR). Unlike former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR), which finished the league round with 14 points and a superior NRR of 0.148, MI can do one better and end with 16 points, but it must also win big.
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Currently, at fourth, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) can be described as being in the pole position since it has a better NRR of 0.180 than MI (-0.128) and RR. RCB can also grab two vital points if they get the better of defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT). But, more importantly, Faf du Plessis' side would know what exactly is required of it since it plays the last game of the league round later on Sunday evening.
MI's chances will get stronger if it wins and RCB loses, whereas if they both win their respective games on Sunday, the NRR will come into play. A loss would shut the doors on MI's chances. The race to the IPL playoffs has perhaps been the most intense this year, with the last two days of the league round determining as many as three of the four playoff spots.
For that matter, two-time former champion Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR's) chances are extremely low, whereas Delhi Capitals (DC), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been knocked out. It will be imperative for the Rohit-led side not to squander opportunities as it did in the last two games, allowing GT to reduce the margin of defeat drastically while losing to Lucknow Super Giants (LS) by five runs and missing out on two points at this stage would have kept MI above both RCB and RR.
MI's biggest concern, on its home ground, has been its bowling which conceded four totals on the trot in excess of 200 and nearly a fifth against RCB, which has left its batters under severe pressure. On several occasions, MI have allowed games to drift away from their control with poor bowling at the death and the team's coaching staff and think tank will be pushed to the hilt to get better results this time around.
Despite Rohit blowing hot and cold, MI's batting has pulled off difficult tasks with ease, and Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan and Nehal Wadhera will be expected to go all guns blazing against SRH's bowlers. Having gone through a lull of five single-digit scores, including two noughts, Rohit has tried to bat himself back into form with an 18-ball 29 and a 25-ball 37 in his last two outings. MI will hope that their captain fires big in the crunch game.
However, with nothing to lose, SRH will aim to end on a high and repeat most of the good work they did against RCB in its last outing. Heinrich Klaasen's superb century came too late in this IPL for SRH's liking, but they gave a glimpse of what they can do with the bat, although, as a side, the 2016 champion has lacked both direction and firepower.
Squad:
MI: Rohit Sharma (c), Chris Jordan, Arshad Khan, Jason Behrendorff, Dewald Brevis, Piyush Chawla, Tim David, Raghav Goyal, Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan (wk), Duan Jansen, Chris Jordan, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Riley Meredith, Shams Mulani, Ramandeep Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Hrithik Shokeen, Tristan Stubbs, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav.
SRH: Aiden Markram (c), Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akeal Hosein and Anmolpreet Singh.
Match details
Date and day: May 21, 2023 (Sunday)
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Time: 3.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema
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