In a match between two teams in good form, neither will want to relinquish that momentum as the Mumbai Indians "host" the Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL 2016 game. The match on Sunday will be MI's first game in Visakhapatnam, against a team likely to get more support than the designated home team.
While the Mumbai Indians have won three in a row and four out of their last five, SRH are on a run which has seen them win five out of their last six matches. So, with both teams in good mood, an entertaining match should be on the cards.
Considering both sides are coming off a win as well, team changes might not be that prevalent. The Mumbai Indians were quite strong in their win over the Rising Pune Supergiants, with a settled team playing like a settled team.
As a result, the playing XI should remain pretty much the same. While Parthiv Patel has still not entirely convinced, the left-hander has played a nice couple of innings in IPL 2016, and that means he probably will keep his place at the top of the order – although both Patel and Jos Buttler kept wickets in practice on Saturday -- which in turn means Martin Guptill will stay on the bench for another game.
With Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan bowling well in tandem and Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler looking good, the four overseas players look locked, barring a late injury. The India bowlers have also done really well this season, with Jasprit Bumrah, in particular, coming into his own as the tournament has progressed.
Krunal Pandya looks vital to MI's cause, while Ambati Rayudu has made that No.3 position his own, so MI are likely to go with the same playing XI that convincingly beat RPS.
There is no reason for SRH to change their lineup either, unless the pitch demands it. With this being the first match of the season in Visakhapatnam, it is difficult to guess what the nature of the wicket will be – it wasn't that great a batting track last season. Unless the pitch shows signs of taking prodigious turn, SRH are likely to keep Karn Sharma and Bipul Sharma on the bench. But if it does look like a slow wicket, one of the spinners might come in for Barinder Sran.
Yuvraj came in to play his first game of the season in the last match – a five-wicket win over the Gujarat Lions – and while his batting looked pretty rusty, the left-armer chipped in with a couple of decent overs. With Moises Henriques also doing well with the ball, the two should have enough between them to act as the fifth bowler.
The rest of the SRH bowling has been pretty good, and one of the main reasons behind their good form. Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Sran have done really well, and there really is no need to make a change, unless the conditions demand it.
Expected playing XI: Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman.
