The Mumbai Indians face the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL match 17 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Here's the SWOT analysis.
The SWOT for MI
Strengths: The bowling is working for MI. Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, James Pattinson and Jasprit Bumrah have all been amongst the wickets. They all have an economy under 9 and no one is averaging over 30.00. The economy and average highlight the discipline of the bowlers.
Weaknesses: Hardik Pandya is not bowling at all but MI have been able to cover for that so far. Will this be able to continue? Yes, since MI have the resources to use Hardik as a pure batsman.
Opportunities: Rohit Sharma could use Chris Lynn to open the batting with him. Lynn is an explosive batsman and it would give Quinton de Kock a break.
Threats: There aren’t many threats at the moment. With four points and a healthy NRR, the team are on their way.
The SWOT for SRH
Strengths: The core of Indian players are standing up when the overseas ones are failing. Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, T Natarajan, Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma have made valuable contributions with the bat and the ball. They have been good in the field too.
Weaknesses: The failure of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow to get big partnerships. The middle-order is talented and full of youthful confidence. Against a quality MI pace attack, however, Warner and Bairstow need to take up the scoring responsibility.
Opportunities: Warner could try out Kane Williamson as an opener. If Bairstow is rested, Mohammad Nabi, Fabian Allen or Jason Holder could be given a game.
Threats: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been their lead pacer for many seasons. His injury in the last match appeared to be serious. If he's unable to take the field, Sandeep Sharma or Siddharth Kaul need to step in. There aren't enough overseas slots to try out Billy Stanlake.
Head to head:
Matches played: 14
Mumbai Indians: 7
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 7
Last five matches: (most recent first):
Mumbai Indians: W-L-W-L-W
Sunrisers Hyderabad: W-W-L-L-L
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI:
Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed
Ground conditions
The temperature will be around 37 degrees celsius. The humidity will be around 46%. There will be hazy sunshine. A moderate breeze is likely.
Team news
How long will SRH's Bhuvneshwar Kumar be out? That would make a big difference to their fortunes. There are no injury concerns for MI.
Impact player for MI
Jasprit Bumrah: The pacer has got 5 wickets and averages 27.00. After a slow start, he is close to his best again. Expect him to get better and better.
Impact player for SRH
Kane Williamson: He is an underappreciated T20 batsman. He has more than 4,600 runs in his T20 career at an average of 30.14 and a strike rate of 124.81. With Williamson back in the team, SRH’s batting is now looking solid.
Betting odds (bet365)
Mumbai Indians: 33/50
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 6/5
How to watch
The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also catch the action online on Disney+Hotstar. The match begins at 3.30 PM IST.