Mumbai Indians would be taking on
Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday in IPL 2021, with both teams eyeing a victory
to smoothen their tournament trajectories after facing loses early on in the
tournament. Mumbai Indians won their second match against Kolkata Knight Riders,
after losing their season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other
hand, have lost both their matches so far and will be adamantly be on the
lookout for a win.
Also read: IPL 2021: Slow starting MI aim to gain speed as SRH play for maiden victory
Listed below are five things that
one should look out for in MI vs SRH:
1.
A
hollowed out Mumbai batting order: The Mumbai Indians batting, in the team’s
last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, was substantially taken apart by KKR
all-rounder Andre Russell. Beginning with Kieron Pollard, Russell cleaned house
with the ball. This could turn out to be a factor in Saturday’s match, with SRH
pace-attack as well as spin-duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi being capable enough
to wreak havoc on the MI batting.
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2. Track factor: The spin option,
however, could be used by MI as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad lost its previous
match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Chennai’s M. A Chidambaram Stadium,
which is the venue for Saturday’s contest. RCB, in the track, had stunted the
Hyderabad innings, not letting them get above the 150-run mark. The same tactic
could be used by Rohit Sharma against the Hyderabad-based franchise.
3. Manish Pandey: Sunrisers top order
batsman Manish Pandey, despite scoring 61 and 38 in the two matches, ultimately
was unable to carry his team to victory and had come under the scanner with a
stale average of 119.
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4.
All-rounder’s
game: The surface in M.A Chidambaram stadium, while supporting comparatively
slower bowlers, helps batsmen as well. A safe combination including both qualities
would be including all-rounders in the first XI of the two teams. Mumbai, with the
likes of Pollard and Hardik Pandya, and Sunrisers with Mohammad Nabi and Johnny
Bairstow, could really bring on the heat.