IPL 2022: Predicting the 3 highest wicket-takers in the MI vs SRH match
The 65th match of IPL 2022 pits Mumbai Indians (MI) against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai tonight (Tuesday, May 17). While MI find themselves at the bottom of the IPL points table 2022 with six points, SRH are in eighth position with 10 points from 12 games.
This is a must-win encounter for the SunRisers if their thin hopes of making the playoffs are to remain relevant. Having won five games on-the-trot, Kane Williamson and Co. are in the midst of a downward spiral and are seeking to arrest a five-game losing streak.
We take on Mumbai Indians in our penultimate encounter of the league stage tonight.
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Mumbai, however, head into this clash on the back of a comprehensive victory over arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at this very venue. That match saw the pace bowlers call the shots with adequate movement on offer with the new ball.
With that in mind, expect the seamers to call the shots yet again tonight on a surface that should have adequate bounce in it as well. On that note, we will try to predict the three highest wicket-takers from tonight's IPL 2022 clash.
#1 Umran Malik - SRH's pace machine
Umran Malik has lit up IPL 2022 by virtue of his escalating velocity with the ball in hand. While he has blown hot and cold, the SRH speedster roared back into form with a three-wicket burst against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last time around.
Malik has fond memories of the Wankhede Stadium, having picked up a five-wicket haul at the venue against the Gujarat Titans (GT) this season. With the Jammu lad brimming with confidence, he will be champing at the bit to leave another impression on the tournament tonight.
Up against him is an MI batting unit that has struggled for any kind of consistency thus far. Malik is known to operate post the powerplay and should go up against Tilak Varma and the untested Tristan Stubbs. Varma has shown a susceptibility to the short ball this season as well, so don't be surprised if Malik returns with another cluster of wickets against his name.
#2 Jasprit Bumrah - MI's bowling spearhead
After a largely lackluster season, Jasprit Bumrah has returned to his lethal best over the last couple of games. A fifer against KKR and a breathtaking new-ball spell against CSK have seen the MI pace spearhead operate as well as he ever has.
With that spring in his step, Bumrah should find the odds favoring him when he comes up against a struggling Kane Williamson. SRH's batting unit has had its fair share of struggles this season and their skipper failing to tee off at the top has compounded their woes big time.
This, as well as the lack of sufficient depth in the SRH batting order, should play into Bumrah's hands as he seeks to add to his tally of 11 wickets for the season. It would be a real surprise should Bumrah not come out of this contest as one of the top wicket-takers given the bounce and movement he is expected to generate.
Catch the next match on the IPL timetable 2022 here.
#3 T Natarajan
With 18 wickets from 10 games in IPL 2022 thus far, T Natarajan has been a pivotal cog in the SRH machine. So much so that he was dearly missed for a couple of games owing to an untimely injury.
Natarajan has fired the second-most number of yorkers in the tournament (28), behind Arshdeep Singh, and has been as reliable as ever in the death overs. With the addition of a solid inswinger to his repertoire this season, he has developed into a wicket bank for SRH.
The landscape shouldn't change tonight either when the SunRisers go face-to-face against a struggling Mumbai Indians batting unit. Given that he takes the pitch out of the equation in any case, Natarajan should bag a couple of scalps yet again and move up the wicket-takers' chart tonight.