IPL 2021, MI vs SRH: Cornered SunRisers Hyderabad Need A-Game Against In-Form Mumbai Indians

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), even so early in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season, find themselves in quite a soup with two consecutive losses, and having to take on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in Chennai on Saturday. David Warner-led SRH have lost both their games so far in IPL 2021 - against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - whereas Mumbai Indians, after losing to RCB in their season opener, came back to defeat KKR in their next match.

Warner, Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow have all hit fifties in the season thus far but their contributions haven't translated into wins as SRH have faltered towards the end of the match in both their games. MI, on the other hand, after losing a close game against RCB, choked KKR in the death overs to register their first win. 

Batsmen aside, leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been SRH's go-to man with the ball, having returned 2 for 24 and 2 for 18 from his quota of four over in the two games this far. 

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, drafted into the SRH XI for the match against RCB, returned three wickets but couldn't contribute with the bat as the team failed to chase 150 after being 116 for 2 at one stage. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH's strike bowler, has blown hot and cold, with returns of 1 for 30 and 1 for 45 from his four overs in the two outings. 

The 2016 champions will expect more consistency from their players when they take on the defending champions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. 

MI snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat when they outdid KKR in the death overs in their second match of the season. 

After they were restricted to 152, Mumbai looked all but out of the contest when KKR's Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill added 72 runs in just under 9 overs for the first wicket. 

But a flurry of wickets in the last five overs saw KKR slip from 122 for 3 to 140 for 7, and they eventually lost the match by 10 runs. 

Rohit Sharma (43) and Suryakumar Yadav (56) scored for the defending champions but MI will expect more out of their middle order. 

Rahul Chahar got 4 for 27 and Trent Boult returned 2 for 27 against KKR and Jasprit Bumrah was reliable as ever at the death as MI bowled exceedingly well to derail KKR's chase. 

Topics mentioned in this article

Sunrisers Hyderabad Mumbai Indians David Warner Rohit Sharma IPL 2021 Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Match 9 Rashid Khan Cricket