Resurgent Mumbai Indians favourites against Sunrisers Hyderabad

New Delhi, May 3

Back in the groove after two consecutive wins, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be firm favourites to put it past the turbulence-hit and bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL game here on Tuesday.

Mumbai will enter the game after their four-wicket win over in-form Chennai Super Kings courtesy Kieron Pollard’s blitzkrieg.

Sunrisers, in contrast, suffered a humiliating 55-run loss to Rajasthan Royals, their sixth in seven games this season. They are also battling a transitional phase in which Kane Williamson has taken over captaincy from an out of form David Warner.

Mumbai openers Rohit Sharma (250 runs) and Quinton De Kock (155 runs) would be itching to give the five-time champions another strong platform and also convert their starts into big scores. Mumbai’s hard-hitting middle-order has clicked in the last two games, which would be quite pleasing for the team management. Pollard (168 runs), who blazed his way to a match-winning 87 off 34 balls in the last game, would be keen to continue from where he left.

The likes of Krunal Pandya (100 runs), Hardik Pandya (52 runs) and Suryakumar Yadav (173 runs) can be destructive on their day.

However, the Mumbai bowlers would need to forget the hammering received at the hands of the CSK batsmen and start afresh.

The pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah (6 wickets) and Trent Boult (8 wickets) have been exceptional at the death and would pose a big threat to the SRH batting unit, which has been inconsistent at best. — PTI