SRH vs MI Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2021 match?
The final day of the league stage of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) sees the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 55 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, October 8.
MI's playoff hopes are hanging on by the barest of threads, and it's safe to say that they have already missed the qualification bus. If they are asked to chase, the defending champions will be knocked out of IPL 2021 before a ball is bowled. If MI bat first, they will need to score more than 200 runs and win by a 170-run margin to leapfrog the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to fourth place.
SRH, meanwhile, are resignedly last in the IPL 2021 points table. The Orange Army have nothing to play for and will look to continue to give youngsters a chance to impress ahead of next year's mega-auction.
Interestingly, SRH vs MI was both teams' final league stage fixture last year. The 2016 champions dominated MI to book their place in the playoffs then, but things are very different now. In the reverse fixture earlier this season, SRH were restricted to 137 in their chase of 150, with Rahul Chahar and Trent Boult picking up three wickets each.
IPL 2021: MI face impossible task as SRH seek sweet sendoff
While Abu Dhabi has been more batting friendly than Dubai and Sharjah, it seems impossible for MI to post a big total, assuming they bat first. The defending champions' middle order hasn't come to the party, and surprisingly, they've made a host of changes in almost every game.
Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jimmy Neesham bowled their hearts out against the Rajasthan Royals, while Ishan Kishan played his first notable knock of IPL 2021. Suryakumar Yadav's final (in all probability) outing of the season will also be under the microscope, with the batters part of India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
MI might consider a few alterations in this game, too. Rahul Chahar might worm his way back into the side, with the young leg-spinner having been dropped after only a couple of unproductive outings.
On the other hand, SRH will want their trio of Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad and Priyam Garg to come good. The trio batted up the order in the previous game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but none of them could strike form. In the bowling department, the rapid Umran Malik will have all eyes on him and his thunderbolts.
SRH might attempt to eliminate MI at the toss itself, but either way, they could run into a more well-rounded team that has nothing to lose. The five-time champions are bound to turn in an extremely aggressive batting approach, one that the IPL 2021 wooden spoon holders might not be able to match.
MI's expected aggression could also go horribly wrong, but they seem to have a slight advantage right now.
Prediction: MI to win Match 55 of IPL 2021