Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be aiming for two crucial points and boost their chances of making it to the playoffs when they take on Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
Sunrisers are placed at the fourth spot with 12 points, just below Mumbai who have 14 points from 12 games.
In their last match against Kings XI Punjab, SRH had secured a comfortable 45-run win at home riding on the heroics of David Warner.
However, with Warner gone, the Kane Williamson-led side will have to reassess their strategy, especially in the batting department. Martin Guptil, in all likelihood, will come into the playing XI and Williamson will be hoping that he scores big just like Warner and gives them a solid start.
On the other hand, Mumbai lost their last encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs, and thus would be desperate for a win to confirm their berth in the playoffs. With their bowlers going for plenty against KKR, skipper Rohit Sharma will be hoping for a better performance from his bowling unit which comprises of Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.
The pitch at the Wankhede, like always, has been batting friendly and betters will again have a good time in the middle.
What to expect?
The average score has been above the 180s this season at the Wankhede batting first but with dew present, teams would like to chase.
Probable Playing XI:
MI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Beuran Hendricks, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga
SRH: Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (C), Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma
