IPL 10, Match 48, SRH v MI: Sunrisers Hyderabad Predicted XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their first home game this season when Rising Pune Supergiant beat them by 12 runs. Jaydev Unadkat took the steam out of their chase of 149 by bowling a maiden last over where he also picked a hat-trick. Sunrisers are in a peculiar position now as far as their qualification for the playoffs is concerned. With 13 points from 12 games, they need to win both games to be sure of a spot in the last four as Kings XI Punjab are not far behind with 3 league games still to go.

They now face a stern challenge of taking the table-toppers Mumbai Indians but the comfort of home will work in their favour. Mumbai have sealed their spot in the top 4. They are coming in the game with a huge 146-run win in their last game against Delhi Daredevils. With just two losses in 11 matches, MI has been the best side this year with 18 points to their name. Playing Sunrisers in Hyderabad is a daunting task but with the kind of form Mumbai is in at the moment, they will start as favourites.

Hyderabad will have to replace Nehra as he pulled his left hamstring in their last game. Every game from here on will be a virtual knockout contest for SRH, which calls for choosing their XI even more judiciously. Let us take a look at the Predicted XI for the home team for this encounter against Mumbai Indians:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner)

Dhawan has been amongst the runs this year but hasn’t really played an impact innings apart from his 77 against Kings XI Punjab. The left-hander, though, has done enough to earn a ticket to England for the forthcoming Champions Trophy by scoring runs consistently. He looked in ominous form in the beginning of the chase but his innings was cut short by an off-cutter from Ben Stokes. The 31-year-old must step up for the remaining two league games for SRH.

David Warner is still more than 100 runs clear from the second man on the table of most runs. He has been super consistent this season with his last score of single digit coming 6 games ago. The orange cap holder looked set to take his team home before he was snapped by Stokes for a well made 40. His dismissal triggered a collapse as SRH could collect just 53 runs in the last 48 balls and lost 7 wickets in the process. Warner will have to make sure that he needs to take it till the end if he gets set.

Middle Order (Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Henriques and Naman Ojha)

Williamson has been in excellent touch this year, though he has only appeared in 6 games out of his side’s 11 (one washout). He occupies the crucial No. 3 spot and with a strike rate of over 160 this year, he has done a reasonable job at that position as well. His skill and experience towards the end of the league is crucial for SRH.

With 32 runs to get in 18 balls and Yuvraj well set on 47, you expect the elegant left-hander to get you home 9 times out of 10. Yuvraj needs to finish such games on his own and will be looking to learn from his mistakes. He will be desperate to contribute as much a possible in SRH’s quest for a spot in the last four.

Moises Henriques have just one wicket against his name after 22 overs this year. He needs to better his performance with the ball a she is someone who gives balance to SRH’s XI. The Australian, though, has an average of 57.25 in 9 innings, where he has scored 3 half-centuries. He has batted up and down but has done well almost every innings with the bat.

Ojha has had just 4 opportunities to bat this year and one of them was in the last game against RPS. At 33, Ojha brings a lot of experience and a safe pair of hands behind the stumps but he needs to step at such crucial junctures whenever he gets his next chance to bat.

Bowlers (Bipul Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj)

With his ability to strike big towards the end of the innings, Bipul Sharma is expected to hold on to his spot in the SRH XI despite giving away 39 runs from his four overs in the last game. He definitely is a better bowler than that and will surely do fine in this game.

Rashid Khan has been ever consistent in his debut season bowling tight lines. His economy rate of 6.61 this year stands out. He returned with impressive figures of 1/18 yet again in the last game. Apart from his bowling, he is an asset in the outfield as a fielder. His mettle will be put to test in this crunch game against Mumbai Indians.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a rare blip in the last game as he went wicketless and gave away 39 runs in his four overs. He, though, is still the holder of the purple cap with 21 wickets from 12 games. He needs to bring his A game into this game against Mumbai as it is expected to go right down to the wire, where Bhuvi’s ability to bowl at the death will be put to test.

Siddharth Kaul has had the team management’s backing and he has repaid the faith by picking 12 wickets from 7 games. In the last game, Kaul picked up 4/29 in his four overs to restrict the RPS to just 148. He might go for runs but he is a wicket-taking bowler and also has a great yorker. Kaul will have to step up further as veteran pacer Nehra won’t be playing this encounter.

Mohammed Siraj has 6 sticks from four games but he has had an alarming economy rate of 9.25. He will get another chance in place of Ashish Nehra and Siraj must grab it with both hands. He has bowled well this year and will learn more and more as the tournament goes on. Siraj also has a good yorker which Warner can exploit during the end overs.

It will be a cracking game but the pressure will be more on the defending champions as they need to win this game at all cost.