The Indian Premier League continues with a potential cracker of a match on Thursday when the last two IPL champions meet as the Sunrisers Hyderabad host the Mumbai Indians in what looks to be a real heavyweight contest.
The Sunrisers won their opening match of the campaign while the Indians went down in theirs. Even though the Hyderabad outfit have a win on the board they will know how important it could be to move two wins clear of the champions.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
I guess ultimately you have to ask what it was that the Sunrisers Hyderabad side beat in their opening match when they blew a rancid Rajasthan Royals aside but that victory might actually look even better after the Royals picked up a win on Wednesday evening. One thing is for sure is you can only beat what is in front of you and the Hyderabad team did just that.
It would actually be unfair to take anything away from them from that opening match. When they sit back and analyse their performance they won’t have found too much that was wrong with it. They won’t want too many wins as easy as that because when they do get down to the business end it is good to have everyone going well but for a first game they will be more than happy with that.
Mumbai Indians
We are five days after the Mumbai Indians took part in the opening match of the tournament and I wouldn’t blame them if they still hadn’t worked out how they managed to lose the match. They looked in total control of the contest when they had Chennai in all sorts of bother in the second innings but then a Dwayne Bravo blitz came along and Mumbai had no answer.
I think the defending champions would be wrong to panic after that defeat and given their history in this tournament I am sure they will not do anything that resembles a kneejerk reaction. This is certainly not the first time they have lost their opening match so they are well rehearsed in what they have to do to get back into the competition.
Team News
There appears to be no reason why the Sunrisers Hyderabad would make any changes from the side which won so emphatically in the first match of the competition. Mohammad Nabi is on the side should they want to mix things up.
Mumbai Indians might want to do something with their bowling attack after it got blitzed at the death in the first game but they are not the side to panic so with Hardik Pandya having been declared fit they could be unchanged, especially as Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the IPL.
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Betting
I’m looking forward to this match. It should be something of a cracker to continue what has been a decent week to begin the IPL season. It is a battle of the last two champions and it is the winners of two years ago, Sunrisers Hyderabad, that I like the look of here.
Heading into the tournament I had a concern over the lack of depth in the Mumbai Indians batting line up. Keiron Pollard batting at seven looks good on paper but the two Pandya’s above him has a very hit or miss element to it in my eyes and then there is nothing below Pollard so the likes of Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav really have to deliver something substantial. That won’t be easy against this Sunrisers attack though and it is that bowling line up, combined with the class of Dhawan and Williamson, that I take to come through here.
Tips
WON – Back Sunrisers Hyderabad to beat Mumbai Indians for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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