Sunrisers Hyderabad take on leaders Mumbai Indians in their final home game of 2017 Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday.
The fourth-placed Sunrisers are heading into the match on the back two consecutive defeats and they need to win their last two matches to stand a chance of making it to the playoffs as fifth-placed Kings XI Punjab, with 10 points and game in hand over the Hyderabad-based team, are keeping the pressure on them.
On the other hand, the Indians have won nine of their last 10 outings and have become the first team this season to seal a playoff spot. Rohit Sharma's men will now be looking to finish 1-2 to earn themselves two chances to reach the final of the tournament.
Sunrisers will head into their crucial match without striker bowler Ashish Nehra, who has picked up a hamstring injury. Youngsters Siddharth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj are likely to share the new ball with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the onus will be on the trio to keep the in-form Indians batsmen quiet.
While David Warner, who tops the batting chart this season, has been firing at the top of the order, Sunrisers have been let down by lack of contribution from the middle order. However, Yuvraj Singh's return to form should boost the batting unit, which needs to perform well today to match the Indians' line-up, which amassed 212 runs in their last match against Delhi Daredevils.
Mumbai will be high on confidence as they have lost only one game on the road this season. In-form off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who picked up three wickets to help bundle out the Daredevils for 66 on Saturday, will be key to their chances against the Sunrisers, who have three left-handers at the top.
TV Schedule
India: Sony Max, Sony Six
US: ESPN, Willow TV
UK: Sky Sports
Malaysia: Astro SuperSport
South Africa: SuperSport
Caribbean: Flow TV, Sportsmax
Middle East: OSN Cricket
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Team News
SRH
Possible XI: Warner (c), Dhawan, Williamson, Yuvraj, Henriques, Ojha (wk), Bipul, Rashid, Bhuvneshwar, Kaul, Siraj
MI
Possible XI: Rohit (c), Simmons, Patel (wk), Pollard, Hardik, Rana, Karn, Harbhajan, Mccleneghan, Bumrah, Malinga
