Rejuvenated Mumbai will face struggling Hyderabad for the second time in Indian T20 League 2021. Mumbai are coming off a thrilling victory against Chennai, while Hyderabad suffered their 6th defeat of the season against Rajasthan.
Match Timings: May 04, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Mumbai and Hyderabad will face each other one more time after a low-scoring thriller in Chennai. Mumbai edged past them in Chepauk when Hyderabad collapsed despite a good start. The story has been changed now. Hyderabad is going through the toughest phase in Indian T20 League and it might be their worst season ever. Management's call to change the skipper at the midway of the season didn’t work out and Hyderabad faced a big loss compare to other defeats. The poor strategy was exposed yet again when Warner was dropped and bowlers conceded 220 against Rajasthan. Batting failed badly and were restricted on 165. Hyderabad has to prepare mentally first because they are creating a mess among all players. Picking Nabi over Warner was a foolish call and the pressure of defeats gave oppositions to counter them easily. With 7 more games remaining, Hyderabad has to win at least 6 to assure the playoffs qualification or they have to focus on a better finish. Changes should be happening in the side and Kane Williamson indicated that Warner might be back in the opening slot. It’s really tough to predict but Hyderabad cannot drop their finest player like this.
Meanwhile, break helped Mumbai to boost their game and they beat Rajasthan and Chennai in their previous encounters to get back into the form. It was a tough task for Mumbai to chase down 219 but Pollard rescued Mumbai with 34-ball 87. Mumbai now in a strong position but they still have lot of questions. Bumrah conceded 56 runs in his spell and bowling was pretty average for Mumbai. Chennai scored 82 runs in the last five. Middle-order still requires attention because they cannot rely on Pollard every time. The track is the same and batting is easier in Delhi so Rohit can recall Ishan Kishan in the squad. Neesham was a good option to control both options. Mumbai is expected to play with the same playing XI for this fixture. With 8 points from 7 matches, Mumbai are in the safe position and they have to extend this winning run because the bottom four might come back in the second half.
Mumbai have the edge over Hyderabad and they defeated Hyderabad four times (including a super over win) out of the last five encounters and they emerged victorious when they last met each other in Cheapauk last month.
Pitch Report
Kotla’s track is ideally a batting track and we have seen three 200 plus scores in the last four outings there. Dew factor will play a big role and the chasing side will have an advantage.
Possible XI
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Neesham, Rahul Chahar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Hyderabad
Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi/Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Key Players
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma
250 runs at an avg of 35.71, top-scorer for Mumbai
Kieron Pollard
Handy with bat & ball both, dangerous on such tracks
Hyderabad
Rashid Khan
10 wickets so far with an eco of just 6.14
Jonny Bairstow
248 runs at an avg of 41.33, having top-form
