IPL 2019, MI vs SRH: Mumbai eye win against Hyderabad to secure berth in playoffs

While Mumbai, placed third on the points table would surely seal a berth in the play-offs courtesy a win, SRH, a spot below MI in the points table, could boost their chances of getting into the playoffs  amid a tough middle race battle with Kings Eleven Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Mumbai Indians shall be locking horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai later on Tuesday evening. The match shall commence at 8 pm (IST). The clash could be aptly dubbed as the battle between the two sides for cementing a spot in the play-offs. While Mumbai, placed third on the points table would surely seal a berth in the play-offs courtesy a win, SRH, a spot below MI in the points table, could boost their chances of getting into the playoffs  amid a tough middle race battle with Kings Eleven Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. Sunrisers Hyderabad will go into the all-important clash without the services of this season's top-scorer David Warner (692 runs from 12 matches), who left for Australia to join the national camp ahead of the World Cup, which begins on May 30 in England. Martin Guptill seems to be the front contender to replace David Warner at the top in SRH's playing 11. Mumbai would fancy their chances of making dents into the SRH batting lineup in the absence of both Warner and Jonny Bairstow. With their star openers gone, SRH would hope that the likes of Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey can step up their game and do bulk of the run scoring. Mumbai Indians have been provided some breezy starts by their openers Quinton de Kock (393 from 12 matches) and captain Rohit Sharma (307 from 11) at the top of the order. The 'Blue brigade' boasts of deadly finishers with hard-hitting all-rounder in Hardik Pandya (355 from 12) and West Indian powerhouse Kieron Pollard (228 from 12, both of whom have been game changers in the tournament. The likes of Surya Kumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya will needs to get some runs under their belt against the multi-pronged SRH attack in which Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (14 wickets) has been the standout performer. SRH bowlers have had their moments under the sun but need to fire collectively to upset Mumbai in their own backyard. Sandeep Sharma (12 wickets from 11 matches), Khaleel Ahmed (11 from 6) and the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8 from 12), along with the Afghan spin twins Rashid and Mohammed Nabi, provide quality to the SRH bowling attack. MI Probable Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Keron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran. SRH Probable Playing 11: Martin Guptil, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma