Quinton de Kock and Rashid Khan
David Warner-led SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), in dire need of a victory to seal playoffs berth, are set to lock horns with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the last league-stage fixture of the on-going IPL 2020. The Match 56 of the tournament is expected to roll out a high-scoring thriller at Sharjah on Tuesday.
While MI are comfortably sitting on the top of the pile with 18 points, SRH are languishing on the fifth position. In a do-or-die game, Warner's men need two vital points to topple Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the fourth spot and qualify for playoffs.
Having won both their previous games, SRH will come out all guns blazing against a robust MI side. With Wriddhiman Saha's re-entry to the squad, the Hyderabad side has probably found a winning combination in their last two games. They've thumped Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to stay afloat in the playoffs heist.
Saha, in place of Jonny Bairstow, has been superb with the bat in both the matches. All eyes will be on the wicketkeeper-batsman to deliver when his side needs him the most. Combining with skipper Warner at the top, Saha will be aiming to produce some fireworks with his bat. Warner has also been in good touch this season, having scored 444 runs so far in the tournament. Apart from the Warner-Saha duo, SRH will be relying on Manish Pandey to bolster their batting order.
Along with Saha, Jason Holder has also been brilliant with his all-rounder prowess. In SRH's win over RCB, Holder had scored 26* off 10 along with picking up two crucial wickets. From going unsold at the IPL 2020 auction to delivering match-winning performances, Holder's resurgence has been remarkable. Rashid Khan has also been exceptional with his variations and has 18 scalps so far in the tournament.
Talking about MI, the defending champions might introduce some changes in their starting squad for the last league fixture. Currently on 18 points, they'll also aim to get to 20.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, the Ishan Kishan-Quinton de Kock pair has done the job for the Mumbai franchise. De Kock is the leading run-scorer for MI this season, having scored 418 runs including four half-centuries. Ishan has also amassed 395 in 10 innings at a strike-rate of 143.63.
While Ishan-de Kock duo has impressed with the bat, the Jasprit Bumrah-Trent Boult pair has been lethal with the ball. Currently second in the Purple Cap race, Bumrah has 23 scalps so far. Boult isn't too far in the list, with 20 wickets under his belt. The lethal bowling duo will be hoping to deliver yet again and seal the game for their franchise.
Dream11 Playing XI: Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha, Suryakumar Yadav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
