IPL 6: Teams in contention for play-off berth face-off

Date – 1st May 2013

Time – 4.00 p.m (IST)

Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians are in contention for the number fourth spot in this tournament. Sunrisers Hyderabad started this season brilliantly, but gradually their performance level came down, while Mumbai Indians have played good cricket in the last couple of games.

Mumbai Indians have dominated the opposition in the last two games. They constantly struck with the new-ball and had the opposition on the backfoot. Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar have provided good starts early in the innings. Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Pollard have done their job in their respective positions in the batting order. They have a well-balanced squad, with four specialist batsmen, four specialist bowlers and two all-rounders. Mumbai Indians could be dangerous when they bat at a slow-rate from the 10th to 15th over as they have the firepower in the form of Rohit and Pollard to accelerate in the later part of the innings. It will also be interesting to see the approach of the Mumbai Indians openers against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad started this tournament brilliantly and looked favourites to win this tournament. But when they started playing against quality teams, they could not win matches consistently and consequently. Had Royal Challengers won against the Rajasthan Royals, in that case, Sunrisers Hyderabad would have fancied their chances. But Sunrisers Hyderabad needs to put in a big performance to outclass the well-built Mumbai Indians. The batting has to click for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, especially the top order. Dhawan, Reddy, Vihari, Sangakkara and Cameron White need to perform with the bat, so that it makes the job little bit easier for their bowlers.

Pitch and Conditions

The conditions in Hyderabad are hot and the wicket is expected to have lots of cracks to it. It usually aids fast bowlers mostly with the new-ball. Since the match begins at 4’o clock, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bat first.

Watch out for:

Sunrisers Hyderabad pace-attack: They have Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma to do the job with the new-ball. Steyn has been magnificent with the new-ball especially at Hyderabad as he got the ball to shape away from right handed batsmen with extreme pace. Ishant Sharma has also been in spotlight after recovering from an injury. He is a tall man and therefore he can extract that extra-bit of bounce from the wicket. Steyn and Ishant have a good track record at Hyderabad and Sangakkara would be hoping for Steyn and Ishant to replicate the same.

Dwayne Smith: Dwayne Smith has batted brilliantly for Mumbai Indians at the top of the order together with Sachin Tendulkar. At the moment, it will be interesting to see his approach against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma. Even if he settles down, Mishra and Karan Sharma can trouble him with their leg-spin. Therefore, Dwayne Smith’s presence till the 15th over is important for Mumbai Indians.

Prediction

The wicket at Hyderabad generally aids pace-bowlers. Both sides have a formidable bowling attack. But Mumbai Indians have a slight edge over Sunrisers Hyderabad as they are in peak form. They are settled as a unit, have the perfect combination and therefore they should not find it difficult against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. But if Sunrisers bat first and scores in excess of 150 runs, then it would be a testing time for Mumbai Indians.