Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their last head-to-head encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI), earlier in IPL 2017. The defending champions will be keen to turn things around when they face Mumbai Indians at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday, May 8.
The David Warner-led side are in serious need to beat MI in the encounter for various reasons, more importantly to get closer to the Playoffs stages as well. The defending champions have played some wonderful cricket, and it might be quite surprising that they have not yet qualified for the Playoffs.
All of a sudden, they have lost their last two matches, and questions are being raised about SRH, which will be keen to come up with their best game against MI in front of their home crowd, which has always been brilliant.
SRH batsmen have looked in great form, with the likes of Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh all amongst runs. With such quality and in-form batsmen, they would prefer to chase, which has been the winning formula in IPL 2017.
But, then the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan have been at their menacing best in last few matches. They need to shine against Mumbai Indians, who have a strong batting line-up.
Lendl Simmons has shown that he is in great form, and could make SRH players pay if he is not dismissed early. He has the ability to destroy teams in the first six overs, and with Parthiv Patel as his opening partner, the combination looks brilliant.
The likes of Nitish Rana and Kieron Pollard have also contributed with the bat at crucial juncture. But, for this Mumbai Indians team to dominate SRH, they need their skipper to fire on Monday. Hardik Pandya has been sensational in some of the matches with his incredible hitting.
Though MI have been brilliant this season, Rohit has not been too inconsistent for Mumbai Indians. The visitors need him to fire, and it would be brilliant if he can get back to his best ahead of the Playoffs.
Mumbai have a settled bowling line-up, though they will miss the services of Krunal Pandya, who has been one of their consistent players. With Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah, they have some wonderful exponents of fast bowling. They will need to keep the SRH batsmen quiet and it will only be possible by picking up wickets at regular intervals.
Can MI bowlers do so or will SRH batsmen canter to victory? We shall know about their fate tonight.
Where to watch
The IPL match between SRH and MI is scheduled for 8 pm IST, 3.30pm BST and 10.30am ET start.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Max, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2/HD. Live Streaming: Sky Sports Go.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
