Having snapped their losing streaks with morale-boosting victories in their previous matches, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad will seek for consistency when the two teams face off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
On paper, both teams share identical records — two wins and four losses from their six outings in IPL 2025 so far. While MI sit seventh on the table, just ahead of SRH due to a superior net run rate, both teams know that a loss here could make playoff hopes significantly harder.
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Five-time IPL title winners Mumbai Indians will be banking on Jasprit Bumrah to rediscover his lethal touch against Sunrisers’ dangerous batting line-up. The match-up of arguably the world’s best fast bowler Bumrah against the deadly opening combo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head spices up the rivalry between the two sides.
Still finding his rhythm after a lengthy injury layoff, Bumrah showed promise against Royal Challenger Bengaluru but was off-colour against Delhi Capitals, where Karun Nair punished his missed lengths. The star quick will be up for a sterner test against SRH’s power-packed top order. Besides Head and Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen are also in good hitting form, as was evident from their dominant run-chase of 245 against Punjab Kings.
For Mumbai, the lack of runs from former skipper Rohit Sharma’s blade adds to their woes, Rohit has so far managed just 56 runs in five innings, and his aggressive intent hasn’t translated into runs, and while he typically struggles against left-arm pace, SRH’s current setup, barring a surprise Jaydev Unadkat inclusion, may not exploit that weakness.
The Mumbai unit has largely banked on the likes of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. While Surya is yet to hit top gear, Tilak has found his touch again with back-to-back fifties after a tough outing in Lucknow. Meanwhile, Naman Dhir has been quietly impactful, both with the bat in the death overs and as a standout in the field while the skipper Hardik Pandya has contributed with both the ball and ball decently.
Their last win over Delhi Capitals sealed with clinical fielding might just be the injection of belief the team needs. But the challenge posed by SRH is real.
The 2016 champions have had a stuttering campaign but reminded everyone of their firepower in the last match. Abhishek led the charge with a jaw-dropping 141 off just 55 balls, rediscovering his touch in sensational style. His record at Wankhede, including a century for India earlier this year could fuel another big hit.
Kishan, too, will look to make his mark against his former franchise at a ground where he’s played much of his cricket. The morale-boosting victory against Punjab helped SRH’s top order to find their groove back, and they’ll back themselves to go big on a batting-friendly Wankhede surface that still offers enough for the quicks.
Squads:
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz (wk), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby, Smaran Ravichandran, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Travis Head, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Wiaan Mulder, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
