Having almost secured their play-off berth after a hard fought away win against bottom placed Pune Warriors, Mumbai Indians are back in their citadel. The John Wright-coached side will look to maintain their hundred percent record at home here and will eye a top-two finish to avoid the eliminator and also seal a Champions League spot in the bargain.
The 2010 finalists host Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday followed by their game against the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. The hosts are currently on a three-match unbeaten streak and have won all six games at home.
Bowling has been the hosts’ strength with Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson closing on the purple cap with 19 wickets so far. Lasith Malinga has been accurate and the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha have also been among the wickets.
The batsmen have done decently at home but struggled a bit in the away games. Therefore, Rohit Sharma and Co. will be happy to face Dale Steyn spearheaded attack in their comfort zone. Sharma is the highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians with 467 runs. The middle order looks settled with in-form Dinesh Karthik and impressive Ambati Rayudu providing good support to their skipper. Glenn Maxwell, who finally got a game in this edition on Saturday, may retain his spot at no 6 for the hosts.
But openers Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith are a concern as both have been inconsistent and the tail is a bit too long with Harbhajan coming in at no 7. Sunrisers’ fortress in Hyderabad was breached by table toppers Chennai Super Kings but the newly floated franchise revived their hopes with a convincing 30-run away win over the Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.
Sunrisers broke Mumbai Indians’ three-match winning streak when the two sides met earlier in Hyderabad and the visitors will be looking to produce a similar performance here.
Steyn will to itching to bowl on a supporting Wankhede wicket here and his contest against Tendulkar remains the talking point. The South African bowled a lively spell of 2/10 last year here for erstwhile Deccan Chargers making an easy target of 101 look stiff, until Rohit Sharma who survived a Steyn early burst plucked his way to 42, and steer his side to a five-wicket win .
Ishant Sharma will also like the bounce here. The lanky Delhiite conceded a record 66 runs against CSK in Hyderabad but bowled well against KXIP in Mohali on Saturday. Darren Sammy and Thisara Perera are the two utility allrounders in the Sunrisers squad. Leg spinners Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma have done well and won’t mind the bounce on this wicket here.
Batting has been a problem for the visitors in last few games as opener Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t fired. Dhawan’s opening partner and wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel has displayed some form. Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White have been swapping their positions as the skipper but both continue to struggle with the bat. Sammy and Perera hold key to accelerate in the death overs.