Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 56: SRH vs MI Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | SRH vs MI Dream11 Prediction | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians Key Players | Sharjah Pitch Report

Win and play RCB in the playoffs. Lose and it’s tournament over. The equation is simple for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

However, the task isn’t. They run into a red-hot Mumbai Indians team, who, with so many playoff possibilities over the past week for other teams, qualified in the top two with ease. So, David Warner’s team, who have been excellent in their past two games, will need to deliver in do-or-die mode once again against a side that has threats right throughout their XI.

The addition of Wriddhiman Saha, a player who was potentially under-utilized by SRH, as opener has been a masterstroke by the men in orange. This has allowed the top order to play with greater freedom due to the insurance of Kane Williamson and Jason Holder in the middle order. Also, the form of Sandeep Sharma and Rashid Khan has been hugely encouraging, and one more strong performance here will seal a playoffs berth to play an RCB side that has lost their last four games.

On the other side, MI have been clinical and relentless in equal measure. A fifth IPL Title is well in their sights. However, it remains to be seen how focused they will be on this game with Qualifier 1 just two days away. Players could be rested, but the desire for momentum will remain. Interesting match.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• David Warner holds a big key to this result. The SRH captain has scored 403 runs for SRH against MI at an average of 50.38. This includes 60 off 44 balls against them at Sharjah earlier this season (where today’s game will be played).
• Can Wriddhiman Saha continue his strong form? He has struck 87 (45) and 39 (32) in his past two knocks. Also, MI is Saha’s favourite IPL opponent by batting average (36.25), with 290 runs against them in 11 innings with three 50+ scores.
• How good has Ishan Kishan been at the top of the order? Since MI skipper Rohit Sharma was sidelined with injury, Kishan has struck 68*, 37, 25 and 72* in his past four knocks. The diminutive left-hander now has 395 runs in 10 innings in IPL 2020, at an average and strike rate of 49.37 and 143.63 respectively.
• If Quinton de Kock plays today, he will line up against a team he found form against earlier in the season (67 off 39 balls on this ground). Also, de Kock has an excellent record vs SRH: 8 inns, 306 runs, avg. 43.71, SR 134.21.
• Suryakumar Yadav’s exclusion from India’s T20I squad stirred quite a bit of buzz. The classy right-hander has had an excellent season (374 runs, avg. 41.55, SR 153.27). However, can he improve on his modest record for MI vs SRH? (5 inns, 119 runs, avg. 23.80).
• Manish Pandey will be key for SRH. He has a strong record vs MI, with 578 runs in 18 innings at an average of 36.13. In fact, last season, Pandey played a memorable knock of 71* off 47 balls vs MI to force a Super Over.
• Kane Williamson has provided value for SRH right throughout the season (200 runs, avg. 33.33, SR 135.13). But, his record vs MI makes for scary reading, so can the Kiwi star improve on it today? (5 inns, 43 runs, avg. 8.60).
• There is a chance MI will rest Hardik Pandya again. However, it is his brother, Krunal Pandya, who has the superior batting record against SRH. Krunal smashed 20 off four balls against SRH earlier this season to propel MI to a 200+ score. In eight innings vs SRH, Krunal has struck 177 runs at an average of 35.60 and SR of 162.39.
• Kieron Pollard has the most runs out of any MI player against SRH (342 runs, avg. 42.75, SR 145.53). The stand-in MI captain has been dismissed just twice in IPL 2020, with his 218 runs coming at a strike rate of 200.00.
• Jason Holder has provided great value for SRH since his entry into the XI. The star all-rounder has taken eight wickets in his four games so far, and slammed a vital 26* off 10 balls to seal victory against RCB last game.
• Rashid Khan will be crucial on a slow Sharjah pitch. The Afghan star has been outstanding in IPL 2020, with 18 wickets in 13 games at an average and economy rate of 14.66 and 5.07 respectively. This includes 1/22 (4) vs MI earlier this season in a total score of 208.
• It remains to be seen if MI choose to rest Jasprit Bumrah or not. If he plays, he has the chance to build on his incredible form. The star seamer has taken 11 wickets in his past five games (including 3/14 and 3/17 in last two). Plus, he has 12 wickets in 10 games vs SRH.
• Trent Boult is not far behind Bumrah (23) with 20 wickets in IPL 2020. The Kiwi seamer was man of the match against SRH earlier this season (2/28) and took 4/18 in his last game at Sharjah (vs CSK).
• The form of Sandeep Sharma has been a huge plus for SRH. He has taken six wickets in his past three games (2/29, 2/27 and 2/20), and has six wickets in four games for SRH vs MI.
• Rahul Chahar’s legspin will be key on the slow Sharjah pitch. T Natarajan, who has three wickets in his past two games (including 1/11 in four overs on this ground vs RCB), will also be key with his variations and yorkers.

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: 15 matches, SRH 7, MI 8. MI have won the past three meetings between the teams.
• Mumbai Indians (208/5) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (174/7) on this ground earlier in IPL 2020.
• Can Sandeep Sharma get the better of Suryakumar Yadav? The seamer has dismissed Yadav three times in six innings, conceding just 27 runs in 28 balls in the process.
• Manish Pandey has struck 52 runs off 25 balls vs Jasprit Bumrah in IPL without being dismissed.
• Ishan Kishan has hit the third-most sixes in IPL 2020 (24), behind Nicholas Pooran (25) and Sanju Samson (26). Kishan can overtake them in either today’s game or in the playoffs.

Possible Playing 11

SRH are set on their playing XI given they are in good form and this is a must-win match. For MI, on the other hand, they could choose to rest players with Qualifier 1 just two days away. The likes of Chris Lynn, Mitchell McClenaghan and Dhawal Kulkarni could come into the XI for this one.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1. David Warner (c), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3. Kane Williamson, 4. Manish Pandey, 5. Abdul Samad, 6. Abhishek Sharma, 7. Jason Holder, 8. Rashid Khan, 9. Shahbaz Nadeem, 10. Sandeep Sharma, 11. T Natarajan

Mumbai Indians: 1. Ishan Kishan (wk), 2. Quinton de Kock/Chris Lynn, 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Saurabh Tiwary, 5. Kieron Pollard (c), 6. Krunal Pandya, 7. Nathan Coulter-Nile, 8. Jayant Yadav, 9. Rahul Chahar, 10. Trent Boult/Mitchell McClenaghan, 11. Jasprit Bumrah/Dhawal Kulkarni

Sharjah Pitch and Weather Report

The chasing team has won the past five matches on this ground. The pitch has slowed down significantly as the tournament has progressed (average first innings score of 146.6 in last five matches), with the track offering almost no pace at all in the RCB-SRH game a few nights ago.

Dew will likely prompt the captain who wins the toss to chase.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1 (if MI rest QdK, Bumrah, Boult)

Option 2 (if MI play QdK, Bumrah, Boult)

Match Prediction

Huge game for SRH. A lot depends on how much MI are focused on this game, and who they decide to pick in their XI. With a lot more at stake, though, SRH are a great chance of winning this to qualify for the playoffs.

Thanks for reading!