Bumrah’s Form in Focus as Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad Seek Consistency
MUMBAI, Apr 16: Mumbai Indians, battling inconsistency, will rely on ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah to return to his best as they face an explosive Sunrisers Hyderabad batting unit in a potentially high-scoring IPL clash on Thursday.
Bumrah, who has returned after a three-month injury layoff, is yet to find the precision that makes him one of the toughest bowlers to face. After a decent outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bumrah struggled against Delhi Capitals, conceding 44 runs to Karun Nair. The 31-year-old will be tested against Sunrisers’ strong batting lineup, featuring Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen.
Mumbai will also be hoping for a return to form for former captain Rohit Sharma, whose tally of just 56 runs from five matches has been a significant factor in their current position at seventh in the points table. Rohit’s struggles against left-arm pace could be alleviated, as SRH may not have a frontline left-arm seamer unless Jaydev Unadkat is included.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has yet to hit his brutal best, but Tilak Varma seems to have regained his form, with scores of 56 and 59 in recent matches after a rough outing against Lucknow Super Giants. Naman Dhir has been pivotal, particularly with his aggressive batting in the death overs and strong fielding.
Both teams have managed to bounce back from disappointing runs, securing crucial victories in their last outings. However, consistency remains key to their future in the tournament.
Struggles for Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH is also struggling, sitting in ninth place on the points table with only two wins from six matches, just ahead of Mumbai on net run rate. However, their batters have started to find form, with the top four — Head, Abhishek, Klaasen, and Kishan — firing in their recent win over Punjab Kings. Abhishek, fresh off a stunning 141 off 55 balls, will look to carry that confidence into this match, especially after a memorable knock against England at the Wankhede Stadium earlier this year. Kishan will also look to make an impact against his former franchise on his home ground.
With the Wankhede pitch often favoring high-scoring matches, both teams will be hoping for big runs, although bowlers can expect some bounce off the surface.
Teams (from):
- Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz (wk), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby, Smaran Ravichandran, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Travis Head, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Wiaan Mulder, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
Match starts at 7:30 pm IST.
