Press Trust of India
Hyderabad, April 17: Plagued by injuries and poor form, hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will look to quickly get their act together to bounce back from the twin defeats when they clash with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in an IPL-IX match here Monday. Both teams will be coming off losses Saturday with MI going down Gujarat Lions while SRH losing to Knight Riders.
SRH have been left to deal with injuries to its crucial players, including Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson and Ashish Nehra. In the absence of the injured players, the poor form of opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been a matter of concern, but Eoin Morgan’s 43-ball 51-run innings against KKR will certainly infuse hope in the side. The bowling will again depend on left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman. However, he will need to have support from the other end.
MI, on the other hand, have won only one of the three matches they played so far and a win is crucial for the side to put their campaign back on track.
The worry for MI however, has been the form of batters in the middle-order. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard have failed to fire in the three matches they have played and that have put extra pressure on the openers. Both Rohit and Parthiv Patel (to some extent) have looked good , but then in a T20 game, everyone will have to contribute equally.
The bowling attack comprising Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah, should help Mumbai’s cause.
For Hyderabad, after losing back-to-back matches, a quick turnaround is necessary to make their way in the tournament and coach Tom Moody asserted that his team can bounce back.
“Absolutely, that is exactly the message. There are a few areas we need to address. But as I said, this is early days into the tournament. So in spite of the two losses, I am very positive. We can turn around this quickly,” Moody asserted.