Aakash Chopra makes his fantasy picks for the game between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad (6:50)
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sharjah
Pro Tip:
Mumbai batsmen and Sunrisers bowlers will be key in Sharjah. Pack your team with Mumbai batsmen but also accommodate a couple of Hyderabad top order-batsmen and bowlers
Our XI: Ishan Kishan(wk), Jonny Bairstow(c), David Warner, Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard(vc), Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan
Substitutes: Quinton De Kock, Sandeep Sharma, Kane Williamson, Rahul Chahar
NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Player availability: Bhuvneshwar Kumar injured his thigh in the last game against the Super Kings. There is no update about him yet.
Captain: Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow has already scored a couple of half centuries and will be keen to set things right after a failure in the last game. Given the ground dimensions, if Bairstow gets in, he is capable of making a big score for himself and Sunrisers.
Vice-captain: Kieron Pollard
Since 2019, Pollard has scored 1814 runs at an average of 39.43 and a strike rate of 159.4 in T20s – probably one of the best patches in his career. For Mumbai, on an average, Pollard had faced 12.5 balls in 2018 and 12.7 balls in 2019, which has resulted in him scoring 412 runs in 22 innings across the two seasons. This season, the average number of balls he has faced has already gone up to 16.25 and Pollard has scored 138 runs in four innings. In a small ground, Pollard might bat up the order again and that could only mean more runs.
Hot Picks
Rohit Sharma: The Mumbai captain is in great form and has a few big scores under his belt already. He will be keen to keep going and make the most of the batting conditions in Sharjah.
Rashid Khan: Rashid has had a couple of fantastic games. He has picked up three wickets in the last two games at an economy of 3.25. Most batsmen still struggle to pick him but they will try to attack him in a ground like Sharjah and that should enable him to get more wickets.
Hardik Pandya: Pandya hit form against Kings XI Punjab and will be looking to take that confidence into this game as well. His strike rate after facing 47 balls is an impressive 163.82. He could be promoted up the order as well given the conditions and his ability to score most of his runs in boundaries means he can get you more points.
Differential Picks
T Natarajan: Natarajan did go for a few runs towards the end of their last game against the Super Kings but he has been one bowler who has consistently gone for the yorkers, especially at the death. Against big hitters like Hardik and Pollard, Natarajan might face a challenge but he has shown that he is capable of acing uphill tasks.
Suryakumar Yadav: If an early wicket falls, it will be Yadav who will have to resurrect the innings. His strike rate this season so far is 139.62 which means he can anchor the innings as well as get some quick runs. Alternate Scenarios
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Both of Rohit Sharma’s fifties this season have come in the first innings so if Mumbai bat first, Rohit is a captain choice.
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If Bhuvneshwar Kumar is declared unfit, Sandeep Sharma or Siddharth Kaul can replace him.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo