The Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad clash in an IPL 2016 match that promises plenty of runs and excitement. With both teams looking to strengthen their case for a place in the playoffs, this should be a keenly contested game.
Below is a prediction of how the match might transpire in Visakhapatnam.
If MI bat first: Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel put on a fifty-run partnership inside six overs, before Parthiv departs in the final over of the Powerplay. Rohit then loses a second partner in Ambati Rayudu quickly, before Jos Buttler is forced to take over as his skipper falls for a well-made 40. Buttler does that brilliantly, taking his time initially before cutting loose, with Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers chipping in as well, as the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra struggle to put the brakes on. MI end up scoring 171.
David Warner starts in a blaze of glory, with Shikhar Dhawan happy to play second fiddle. After 60 runs come off the Powerplay, SRH quickly move on to 90/0, before Warner and Dhawan are dismissed in quick succession by Harbhajan Singh. That threatens to expose the soft underbelly of the Sunrisers, but Kane Williamson is there to calm things down, and with Yuvraj Singh finding the middle of the bat from the off, the match goes deep. SRH are left needing 25 from the last two overs, with Yuvraj finishing things off in style with a couple of sixes.
If SRH bat first: Warner and Dhawan put on 40 runs together, before the latter falls. Warner continues on with Williamson, as the duo ally for a big partnership, similar to the one they managed against RCB to set their team up for a big total. Yuvraj, Henriques and Deepak Hooda come in late on to take SRH to 174.
Rohit has played a couple of match-winning knocks already while chasing a total, and the captain starts this chase really well, taking on the aggressor's role as Parthiv falls early to Bhuvneshwar. Rayudu sticks with his captain for 45 runs, before Buttler comes in with MI needing to go at over eight runs an over. Rohit and Buttler ally for 56 runs, before the latter falls for a well-made 30. However, despite the best efforts of Mustafizur, there is no stopping Rohit, who finishes the match off with Pollard with four balls to spare.
