Bruised and battered after a rather forgettable start to the IPL 2025 season, last year’s finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad will expect Pat Cummins & Co to get their act together before it gets too late as they gear up for a home fixture against a resurgent Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Tottering at the penultimate spot in the 10-team IPL 2025 points table with just a couple of wins from seven outings so far, the Sunrisers can’t afford another defeat as it could further dent their chances of reaching the playoffs.
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One of the primary reasons for SRH’s desperate situation this season has been their one-dimensional batting approach that struggled especially in conditions where the ball tends to turn.
The four-wicket defeat to MI in Mumbai on a tricky Wankhede pitch with grip and turn was the most recent instance of their vulnerabilities in challenging conditions.
Having lost a couple of home games this season, the Sunrisers would thus expect the Uppal pitch to be a flat deck, conducive to their batting approach, and look to gain some momentum with a win.
The onus of resurrecting SRH’s campaign primarily lies on the kind of start provided by the explosive opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, before the likes of Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy add muscle to their scoring.
Left-handed Abhishek smacked a 55-ball 141 in his last outing here against Punjab Kings to record the highest individual total for any batter in this IPL. SRH would hope both Abhishek and Head to set the tempo, even though the Australian is due for a big hit of late.
Coming to their bowling unit, SRH has a potent pace attack led by skipper Cummins along with the experienced Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel. Spinner Zeeshan Ansari has been impressive but the youngster will be up for a challenge against a MI line-up that relishes spin bowling.
Fresh from a nine-wicket thrashing of Chennai Super Kings, five-time IPL title holders Mumbai Indians have managed to get their campaign back on track with a couple of wins and now sit at the sixth position.
The biggest positive from their previous outing at the Wankhede was the return to form of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. While Rohit slammed a sensational unbeaten 76, Suryakumar 68 not out helped MI chase down a target near 180 with more than four overs to spare.
Tilak Varma did not get to bat against CSK but the southpaw has been in red-hot form, while Naman Dhir has been impressive in his role of a finisher alongside skipper Hardik Pandya.
Pandya has smartly negotiated the initial challenges, and has come up with strategic changes to help revive MI’s fortunes. The bowling unit is a well-oiled unit under Jasprit Bumrah, who despite not being at his best, has been amongst the wickets. Veteran Kiwi left-arm pacer Trent Boult has been rock solid with his effort, while the spin trio of Rahul Chahar, Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner have also troubled opposition line-ups on a frequent basis.
Squads:
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.
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz, 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.
