Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Having lost five of their six previous encounters, hosts Mumbai Indians will have their task cut out when they face a rejuvenated Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
After ending their four-match losing streak in the ongoing season with 18-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 19, Mumbai Indians thought of carrying the momentum going, but 37-run loss to Delhi Daredevils on Thursday have again put the team on the back foot.
With the loss on Thursday, the team are now placed at the bottom of the table with just two points from six matches. The home side surely needs to sit back, regroup, analyse and shut down the loopholes ahead of the clash, who come into the match after a 16-run win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) in a rain-affected match via the Duckworth-Lewis method on Wednesday.
Right after their loss to KKR in the season opener, Rohit-led side made numerous changes in the squad in every outing, but nothing seems to go right their way at the moment.
With Australian hard-hitting opener Aaron Finch being knocked out of the tournament with hamstring injury, his replacement West Indian Lendl Simmons is yet to make a impact in the ongoing season after a fruitful 2013.
Batsman skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to make a mark in the season considering his talent and abilities. Kieron Pollard, wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu all will be anxious to get runs under their belt and help team get back to winning ways.
From the bowling department, apart from fast bowler Lasith Malinga and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, all leaked runs both at the start or towards the end. New Zealand’s all-rounder Mitchell McClenaghan who was given the spot in the team in place of Corey Anderson, considering his impressive bowling abilities, is yet to make a positive impact.
Whereas the Sunrisers with explosive openers David Warner who looked in sublime touch against KKR in the last encounter striking 91 off 55 balls and Shikher Dhawan hitting 54 off 46 balls will look to make the best use of the first six overs to put the opposition in the back foot right at the start.
Bowlers Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn Sharma will aim to make a strong point, after not that great performance so far.
Although having a experienced bowling line-up, the visitors will bank on their batters to do the job for them. The side has won two games out of five matches so far.
The squads:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ambati Rayudu, Abhimanyu Mithun, Aditya Tare, Parthiv Patel, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Marchant de Lange, Pawan Suyal, Shreyas Gopal, Lendl Simmons, Pragyan Ojha, Mitchell McClenaghan, Aiden Blizzard, Akshay Wakhare, Nitish Rana, Sidhesh Lad, Hardik Pandya, Jagadeesha Suchith, Unmukt Chand and R Vinay Kumar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Moises Henriques, KL Rahul, Parveez Rasool, Naman Ojha, Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Chama Milind, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, Ravi Bopara, Praveen Kumar, Trent Boult, Hanuma Vihari, Prasanth Padmanabha, Siddarth Kaul, Bipul Sharma.