IPL 2018 Preview: MI v/s SRH - Four losses down, Mumbai desperate to make a move

Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a crunch game at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday.

The defending champions are seventh in the points table at the moment, with a defeat against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday being their fourth in five games.

After three straight losses to begin their campaign, Rohit Sharma’s team seemed to have arrested the streak with a win against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, a crushing defeat in Jaipur has put them in a serious spot of bother.

MI need to win at least seven of the remaining nine games to have a chance to advance to the next stage.

A major reason for MI’s woes this season has been their shoddy batting. Apart from Suryakumar Yadav and young Ishan Kishan, none of the batsmen have found their feet.

Skipper Rohit has had just one good outing with the bat. His 94 against RCB led MI to a comfortable victory, showing just how imperative his form is to MI’s fortunes. 
Even the power hitters – Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard – have been silent this season so far. The duo’s failure in adding the finishing touches has been detrimental for Mumbai.

But amidst the gloom, the good news for the hosts is that SRH, too, come into the game with lack of form.

The visitors started off with a hat-trick of wins but defeats against Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings in their last two games has seen them slip to fourth position in the points table.

SRH have been dealt a serious blow with Shikhar Dhawan being sidelined due to an elbow injury, and captain Kane Williamson saying on Monday that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has a stiff back, will also miss the game against Mumbai.

The visitors, however, will back themselves to get back to winning ways on Tuesday.

Williamson’s side got the better of MI when the two teams met earlier in the tournament. Although that victory came on home turf, Hyderabad’s bowling attack, even without Kumar, will be confident of putting Mumbai’s brittle batting under the cosh once again.

Before MI’s win against RCB, Rohit said that his team had come back from tougher situations in the past, like in 2015, when Mumbai had won the title after losing the first five games.

With the tournament entering its business end, it would be a good time for the three-time champions to make a move.