Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will aim for a thumping win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in order to keep their hopes of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs this year alive. 

Mumbai started the season with hopes of becoming the first to win three titles in a row. But their formidable batting depth has failed to fire in unison this season, setting up a last-ditch scramble to secure a top four spot. 

Also Read | MS Dhoni uncertain over playing next IPL, cites retention policy, new teams

However, the Rohit Sharma-led side showed signs of recovery in their last outing against the Rajasthan Royals. A superb bowling performance saw them restrict the Royals to just 90, the lowest total of the season and one the champions chased down within nine overs – courtesy a morale-boosting quickfire fifty for out-of-form Ishan Kishan. 

That win lifted MI to fifth on the table and level on points with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in fourth, although Eoin Morgan’s side have a superior net run rate – +0.294 compared to MI’s -0.048. 

KKR take on RR in their final game of the group stage on Thursday. 

A win for KKR against RR will take them to 14 points and also improve their net run rate further. In that scenario, MI may find it very difficult to qualify for the play-offs even if they beat SRH as the gap in their NRR with KKR is not small.

Also Read | Strong pool of fast bowlers good for Indian cricket: Virat Kohli on Umran Malik

Asked if it is an advantage to play a team like SRH on the last day, MI captain Rohit Sharma had said, “All eight teams are capable of beating each other. But the good thing is that KKR plays before us, so we will know what to do.” In case KKR lose, then a win will be enough for MI to seal the fourth play-offs spot as they then will have 14 points.

Meanwhile, the Sunrisers, already out of reckoning for a play-offs berth with just three wins all season, will look to finish the tournament on a high.

Skipper Kane Williamson was back among the runs and would be keen to start from where he left on Wednesday. But the Kiwi will need support from others like Jason Roy and relatively inexperienced guys like Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad and aggressive Wriddhiman Saha.

With the addition of pace sensation Urman Malik, SRH have one of the best bowling attacks and the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan and Siddharth Kaul would have to be at their best to contain MI’s explosive batting line up.