Picking a combined SRH-MI playing XI for IPL 2024 ft. Heinrich Klaasen, Jasprit Bumrah
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in match number eight of IPL 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27.
SRH went down to Kolkata Knight Riders by four runs in their opening game at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Meanwhile, MI lost a close game to Gujarat Titans by six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
SunRisers Hyderabad bowled first against KKR and conceded 204-7. Andre Russell clobbered the bowling attack, smacking three fours and seven sixes in his 64* off 25. SRH competed hard in the chase but fell just short. Hyderabad need to show significant improvement in both batting and bowling departments.
Mumbai, meanwhile, did well to restrict Gujarat to 168-6 in their opening IPL 2024 game in Ahmedabad. However, their batters failed to live up to their reputation, as they only managed 162-9 in response. Hardik Pandya and Co. will be keen to put up a better all-round effort against SRH.
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As SunRisers Hyderabad take on Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, we pick a combined XI of both sides for IPL 2024.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Sharma
Mumbai Indians' former captain Rohit Sharma would open the batting with SunRisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma in the combined XI. Rohit scored a fluent 43 off 29 against GT, hitting seven fours and a six. He has been in great form with the willow recently.
Abhishek contributed a blazing cameo of 32 off 19 for SRH against KKR, slamming four fours and two sixes. He has played some impressive knocks for Hyderabad in the IPL. The Rohit-Abhishek opening would also make for a good left-right batting combination.
Middle-order & All-rounders: Tilak Varma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Hardik Pandya, Tim David
MI's Tilak Varma would come into bat at No. 3 in the combined XI. The left-hander has the ability to take on the bowling and can play some fiery knocks. Against Gujarat Titans, he smashed 25 off 19 and was looking good for a lot more when he was dismissed.
Varma would be followed by former SRH captain Aiden Markram. The aggressive right-handed batter was dismissed for 18 off 13 against KKR. Markram doesn't have a great record in the IPL, having hit only four half-centuries in 34 games, but his talent cannot be questioned.
Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen would be the key batter in the combined XI. He played a superb knock of 63 off 29, clobbering eight sixes against KKR singlehandedly pushing SRH towards victory before they faltered. Klaasen was sensational last season, smashing 448 runs in 12 games at an average of 49.78 and a strike rate of 177.08.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya had a forgettable first game as full-time MI captain against GT. He was expensive with the ball and went wicketless and, by the time he came into bat, the game was more or less over. Pandya, though, is a proven performer, so Mumbai will back him to deliver against Hyderabad.
The hard-hitting Tim David features at No. 7 in the combined SRH-MI XI. He was dismissed for 11 against GT. But with a strike rate of 175 in the IPL, he could be used as a floater in the batting department.
(Suryakumar Yadav was not considered for a place in the middle order, as he's still injured.]
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins (captain), Piyush Chawla, T Natarajan
MI's Jasprit Bumrah would be the first name among bowlers in the combined playing XI. He gets picked due to his outstanding record in the IPL - 148 wickets in 121 games at an average of 22.92. In Mumbai's opening game against Gujarat, he excelled with 3-14.
SRH captain Pat Cummins is a proven leader and would captain the combined XI. He had decent figures of 1-32 from his four overs against KKR. However, considering his price tag, Hyderabad will expect a lot more from him.
Veteran MI leg-spinner Piyush Chawla claimed the big wicket of Gill in his team's IPL 2024 opener against GT. Chawla had done well last season too and will look to continue the impressive form, bringing his experience into play.
Hyderabad left-arm pacer T Natarajan produced excellent figures of 3-32 against Kolkata, dismissing Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh. When Natarajan is in rhythm, SRH's bowling attack looks sharp.