Both Hyderabad and Mumbai enter their second contest of the 2021 Indian T20 league with contrasting fortunes. Mumbai won their first meeting by 13 runs with Kieron Pollard proving to be the difference between the two sides. While the former have recently axed their captain and are languishing at the bottom of the table after three consecutive losses, the latter are high on confidence after scripting one of the most memorable wins in the league against Chennai on Saturday, once again thanks to Kieron Pollard’s 34-ball 87.
As they clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on May 4, both the sides have different tasks on hand. Hyderabad need to get back to winning ways and Mumbai need to strengthen their top 4 presence with their third consecutive victory. Mumbai are currently placed 4th in the points table.
Hyderabad vs Mumbai probable playing XI
Mumbai is a team that generally makes the least changes in their playing XI unless it’s tactical. They are likely to go with the same combination as against Chennai. Jimmy Neesham’s Mumbai debut didn’t go as expected but he can retain his place for the Hyderabad clash.
Mumbai predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Hyderabad made as many as three changes to their playing XI in the last match but lost by 55 runs to Rajasthan. They may stick to the same lineup and hope for better performance. The absence of David Warner at the top is also a big loss for the Men in Orange.
Hyderabad predicted XI: Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Kane Williamson (captain), Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammad Nabi, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Hyderabad vs Mumbai prediction: Who will win?
Overall, Hyderabad have been good performers against Mumbai and have almost an equal record against them. However, their current form suggests that they have a lot of work to do to beat the five-time Indian T20 League champions.
Mumbai lead 9-8 in a total of 17 matches played between them so far and have won both their matches chasing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium so far after winning the toss.
Hyderabad have lost both their matches at Delhi and with the tournament already at halfway stage, they would need as many wins as possible to stay alive in the tournament. Overall, they have found more success while chasing with five wins to their name.
Mumbai look strong on paper as well as recent performances and they look to dominate Hyderabad once again.
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Top Tip: Best Batsmen
Manish Pandey is our pick as the Hyderabad batsmen to watch out for, having scored 580 runs in a total of 20 matches against Mumbai with a strike rate of 127.19 and five 50+ scores. Though he was dropped for a couple of matches, he is back in the side as an opener under the new captain Kane Williamson following David Warner’s exit.
Keiron Pollard has enjoyed very good success against Hyderabad as he has scored 418 runs and a highest score of 78. These have come at a brilliant strike rate of 148.22. The big man is in some tremendous form already and was the Man of the Match when the two teams met earlier this season.
Top Tip: Best Bowlers
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in top form versus Mumbai as he has scalped 18 wickets at an economy rate of 6.43 and has been extremely skilful in the powerplay as well as the death overs. The fans would want him to deliver the goods once again.
Jasprit Bumrah has enjoyed decent success against Hyderabad resulting in 13 wickets so far at an economy rate of 6.87. He was also instrumental in the team’s first clash this season with bowling figures of 1/14 off 4 overs.
Top Tip: All-rounder and Wicket-keeper
Both the sides are blessed with quality wicket-keepers but it is Hyderabad’s Jonny Bairstow that is the first choice due to his outrageous hitting right from the first delivery. He has scored 248 runs at a strike rate of 141.71 and a best of 63* this season.
None other than the ultimate game-changer Keiron Pollard remains everyone’s favourite all-rounder at the moment. Not only has he bagged two Man of the Match awards this season, he played a sensational innings of 34-ball 87 in the last match against Chennai to pull off an incredible win. He hit as many as eight sixes in his knock and has a season strike rate of 171.42 with a total of 13 sixes.
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Featured Image: AFP/ Indranil Mukherjee
