Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will be looking to continue their momentum as they clash in the 25th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL), at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, on April 18. Both teams enter this game with two wins from their opening four games this season with both wins coming in their last two games. Mumbai Indians have found their rhythm back but still have a few issues to overcome prior to this game.
Meanwhile, the hosts beat Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in back-to-back games with dominant all-round performances. The bowlers were impressive as they restricted Punjab to just 143/9, while bowling first. When it comes to batters, they shone against Kolkata to post the biggest total in IPL 2023. Harry Brook recorded his first IPL 2023 century and skipper Aiden Markram continued his red-hot form with a fifty.
However, Kolkata also managed to score a 200-plus total in return as the likes of Umran Malik and T Natarajan struggled for economic spells. Sunrisers will be hoping for better performances from their pace attack but will not tinker with their winning combination for the Mumbai Indians game.
Here’s Sunrisers Hyderabad’s predicted XI against Mumbai Indians
Openers: Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal
Harry Brook (Photo Source : IPLT20)
Harry Brook registered his first century in IPL as he smashed an unbeaten 100 off 55 against Kolkata Knight Riders. The English youngster came under pressure after underperforming in the opening three games but he had to justify his hefty price tag to get it going in the league. However, the Sunrisers Hyderabad openers are struggling to produce good starts as Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma are yet to find their rhythm this season.
Mayank cost Sunrisers Hyderabad INR 8.25 crore but has failed to provide expected performances so far. He scored just nine off 13 against Kolkata as he struggled for the big shots again. Mayank has scored just 65 runs from the opening four innings at a strike rate of 103.17 and is the only SRH batter not to register a six in IPL 2023.
Middle Order: Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk)
Aiden Markram. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Rahul Tripathi started with two fours against Kolkata Knight Riders but was dismissed after facing just three deliveries. But thereafter, he played a match-winning knock of 74 off 48 against Punjab Kings to guide Hyderabad to their first win this season and followed it with an admirable knock of 34 off 41 against Lucknow Super Giants.
Aiden Markram has carried out his international form in IPL 2023, as he smashed 50 off just 26 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The skipper has been in sensational form across formats this year and this has been reflected in Hyderabad’s impressive turnaround in form in the last two games.
Abhishek Sharma returned to the playing eleven against the Kolkata Knight Riders after missing two games. The youngster opened the innings against Rajasthan Royals but played in the no.5 position against Kolkata. He impressed in the finishers’ role by smashing 32 off just 17 to ensure a big total for Sunriser Hyderabad and is likely to be utilized as a finisher in the upcoming games ahead.
Heinrich Klaasen also provided a finishing touch as he added 16* off six against Kolkata. This was the first time the South African wicketkeeper batter got a chance to showcase his big-hitting skills and he provided what was expected of him. Klaasen’s cameo will keep Glenn Phillips on the bench for the next few games if the former replicates similar innings against the Mumbai Indians.
All-rounder: Marco Jansen
Marco Jansen. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
The South African pacer is yet to display his batting skills in IPL 223 but has been brilliant with the ball. He took two back-to-back wickets to dismiss Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine in the last game. He has taken four wickets from two innings this season and has seemed comparatively impressive among Sunrisers Hyderabad’s star pacers.
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
T Natarajan. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the innings’ third delivery against Kolkata as he bowled an economically impressive spell. The veteran pacer has taken three wickets in his last three innings but has conceded runs at an economy rate of 9.00 in IPL 2023 so far.
Umran Malik conceded 36 runs off his two-over spell against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last game. The young speedster has taken five wickets from four innings this season but has remained the costliest bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad so far. Umran guided Hyderabad to a thrilling three-run win against Mumbai Indians in the last meeting with three big wickets in the IPL 2023 and will be looking to repeat the performance on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mayank Markande produced another impactful spell with two wickets for 27, including Andre Russell’s wicket against KKR in the last game. The Indian spinner warmed the bench for the first two games but currently leads the bowling chart for Sunrisers with six wickets from two innings in IPL 2023. Speaking of another talented pacer in T Natarajan, who looked out of colour and conceded 54 runs from his four-over spell against Kolkata as he struggled to find his mojo in the mega cricket carnival so far with just three wickets at an expensive economy of 10.00.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Predicted XI
Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Probable Impact Players
Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Glenn Phillips, Kathik Tyagi