IPL 2019: Match 51, MI vs SRH - Match Preview, Predicted Playing XI, and Key Players
Mumbai Indians will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in front of their home fans for match 51 of Vivo IPL 2019 on May 2nd. This is a reverse fixture of the contest that featured Alzarri Joseph's annihilating spell of bowling on his IPL debut.
This is a crunch game for both these sides with each of them harboring hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Mumbai are more certain to make it to the playoffs than their opponents are, but SRH can't afford to lose as teams like Punjab, Kolkata and Rajasthan are hot on their heels.
Mumbai Indians
Batting
Key Batsmen: Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock and Hardik Pandya
Mumbai Indians have had a pretty ordinary performance with the bat this season and apart from some good finishing from their big-hitting all-rounders, no other batsman has fired on a consistent basis.
However, they have multiple match-winners in their ranks and their non-reliance on a certain player to fire has been their success this season. Evin Lewis, too has been a good late addition to their line-up.
With two home games to go before the group stage draws to a close, their batsmen including the openers will look to fire. With SRH's strong opening pair out of reckoning, if the Mumbai openers manage to dominate the powerplay, MI will have the upper hand.
Bowling
Key Batsmen: Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Rahul Chahar
MI's bowling has always been strong and with Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga joining forces and plying their trades together, Mumbai probably have the best death bowling setup. Young leggie Rahul Chahar too has stepped up when the occasion rose and with his wicket-taking abilities more than covering for the other spinners, the part-timers have done a good job too.
With SRH's top order seeming unstable after the loss of their openers, if someone like Hardik Pandya or Malinga can grab an early wicket, it will be an easy outing for Mumbai.
Predicted Playing XI
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Barinder Sran , Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Batting
Key Batsmen: Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar
SRH have a herculean task ahead of them in assembling their batting unit after David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have left for international duties. Kane Williamson clearly has to step up and deliver and play a big innings to get back in form ahead of the playoffs.
Manish Pandey's return to form is a huge positive for the side while the likes of Vijay Shankar and Yusuf Pathan need to fire. Martin Guptill is likely to replace Warner in the side and on a beautiful batting track in Mumbai, they need to deliver.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Khaleel Ahmed
The SRH bowlers haven't performed up to the level in which things were expected of them and none of the bowlers apart from Rashid Khan have been able to contain the run flow. The advent of Khaleel Ahmed who has picked up couple of wickets consistently in each game bodes well for the side.
However, the other bowlers including Bhuvneshwar Kumar haven't delivered this season and as the twilight of the group stage approaches, a performance is due. Mohammad Nabi too can play a major part with the new ball and if he can get one of the Mumbai openers early, they will have the upper hand.
Predicted Playing XI
Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Sha(WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson(C), Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma