IPL: SRH sets sights on play-off berth

Thanks to its healthy net run rate, a win against Mumbai should be enough to send Hyderabad into the final-four. After taking a tough call to leave out opener Jonny Bairstow from the playing eleven, SRH has managed to find out the “right” balance.

Wriddhiman Saha has made an instant impact as David Warner’s opening partner and the inclusion of Jason Holder has given Sunrisers an all-round option. Pacers Holder and Sandeep Sharma were extremely impressive, both upfront and at the death, in the last game versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Add left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan and trump card Rashid Khan, SRH boasts of a well-rounded attack. Sunrisers is not only riding high on momentum but also is full of confidence, having outplayed Delhi Capitals (DC) and RCB in its previous two outings.

“In 2016, we had to win three games and we did that,” said SRH skipper Warner after the RCB game, referring to the team’s title-winning campaign four seasons ago. Hyderabad knows that there is little scope for error against a formidable outfit like Mumbai.

In the absence of injured captain Rohit Sharma, MI steamrolled RCB and DC in its last two encounters, becoming the first team to qualify for the play-offs. Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah have looked menacing with the swinging new ball and ever so frugal with the old.

Kieron Pollard has been impressive with his captaincy in Rohit’s absence. With the Indian team not picking Rohit for the Australia tour, there is no official update on his recovery from a hamstring injury which he suffered two weeks ago.

“Rohit is getting better and hopefully, he will be back soon,” Pollard said after the match against DC without elaborating. Already assured of the top spot in the points table, Mumbai is expected to put up another ruthless show against Sunrisers.

The nature of the surface in Sharjah has changed drastically with low-scores replacing 200-plus totals, which was the norm at the start of the tournament.