Of the two matches which will be played simultaneously on the final day of the league stage of IPL 14, defending champions Mumbai Indians' encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi will hog most of the limelight. After Kolkata Knight Riders' 86-run win against Rajasthan Royals last night, Rohit Sharma's men need to produce something astonishing to qualify for the Playoffs.
Mumbai need to win by this game against Kane Williamson's Hyderabad by 171 runs or more to qualify – if they bat first, that is. And if they bat second, they will be knocked out before a ball is bowled.
Hence, under any circumstances, Rohit needs to win the toss, bat and come out all guns blazing along with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, and Hardik Pandya. Do not be surprised if someone like Pollard gets a promotion in the batting order tonight.
The Mumbai bowlers are in form. They restricted Rajasthan to 90/9 in their previous match. However, against Hyderabad, they will have their task cut out, if they are asked bowl the opposition out for just 40-50 runs as per the NRR requirement.
SRH, however, will go into this game with some confidence after their triumph over Bangalore in the previous game. They have little to lose at this point, and if they indeed plan on ending their association with David Warner, it will be an ideal platform to give him a farewell game.
Likely XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jason Roy, Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Jason Holder, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Umran Malik
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Betway Fantasy tips
- Mumbai will push their power hitters up the order if they are batting first. Hence, do pick the likes of Pollard and Hardik in your fantasy teams along with the usuals like Kishan and Rohit.
- With not many left-handers in the Hyderabad batting line-up, leg-spinner Chahar will fancy his chances of making a return. He can be an attacking option for Rohit, so you may want to have him.
- Rashid has a good record against the likes of Hardik and Pollard. So, do watch out for this battle within the battle between two of the most devastating power-hitters in modern cricket and an attacking wrist-spinner.
Prediction
Mumbai are favourites to win the contest but they are unlikely to cross the net run rate barrier.
Blitzpools Fantasy XI
Ishan Kishan (vc), Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Suryakumar Yadav, Jason Roy, Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Rashid Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Siddharth Kaul