Hello and welcome to the Firstpost's coverage of IPL match number 23 between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mumbai Indians are not having a the best of times in IPL 2018. They have lost 4 out of the 5 games they have played. Sunrisers Hyderabad are also on the slump after a good start in the first three games. Read the full preview of this big clash here .
Delhi Daredevils (DD) – playing their first home game this season after five games on the road – would've been praying sincerely for their dipping fortunes to change course as the tournament nears the halfway mark, bringing in as many as five changes to their playing XI. Instead, they were left hanging till the very last delivery of the match, only for them to taste defeat yet again. Read the full analysis by Amit Banerjee here .
Not to forget that today's the day when one of the greatest cricketing icons in this world was born- Sachin Tendulkar. Here's Shantanu Srivastava going 20 years back to Sharjah to relive one of the most astonishing knock of the great man on his birthday. Read the piece here .
When asked to compare his 'Desert Storm' knocks with VVS Laxman's historic 281 at the Eden, Sachin Tendulkar said that both knocks had an equal impact on Indian cricket. Read his full statement here .
Devdutt Kshirsagar and Vaibhav Shah soak in the atmosphere outside the Wankhede Stadium, where Mumbai Indians are set to host Sunrisers Hyderabad shortly.
Less than 10 minutes for the toss , players from both teams involved in last minute drills, MI players given high catches, while most of Sunrisers' players were enjoying bit of a footie and now they have began warming up. Can clearly spot Shikdhar Dhawan good signs if you are an SRH fan.
"Good pitch, but we know good score we put up here is hard to defend. Won't change a lot. It's little disappointing. We've played good cricket. It's just that finishing touch wasn't there.New game, and it's important to start afresh," says Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma. Mumbai Indians go with an unchanged team for this match.
"We would've had a bowl. We have three spinners and three seamers," says SRH skipper Kane Williamson, whose side are batting first for the first time this season. SRH go with three spinners and as many seamers. Dhawan, Nabi and Thampi are in. Nabi gets his first game of the tournament.
JUST IN: Australian pacer Billy Stanlake has flown back home, and is set to miss the rest of the IPL season due to a finger injury. (Source: Sunrisers Hyderabad official Twitter account)
One thing that stands about Mumbai Indians is that they back their core no matter what. Another chance for Kieron Pollard. Despite losing four matches, they haven’t hit the panic button, like Delhi Daredevils did yesterday and made five changes. They have retained the same XI and chose to field. They won their last game at Wankhede and will be looking forward to emulate a similar performance.
Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shikhar Dhawan , Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi , Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi , Sandeep Sharma , Siddarth Kaul. Hyderabad make as many as four changes. Replace Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake with Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Nabi, Basil Thampi and Sandeep Sharma.
This is the first time in IPL 2018 that SRH are batting first and Mumbai are bowling first.
Hardik Pandya is out already and bowling . He is getting into his rhythm and is accompanied by Lasith Malinga. Think he will bowl the first over.
Some expected and a few forced changes for Sunrisers. But addition of all-rounder Mohammad Nabi should help the balance. They needed the big-hitter in the line up. Though with Dhawan returning the batting order will go under a major overhaul. Will we see Kane Williamson open again, he played one of his finest T20 innings in the last game as an opener or will we see Saha back to original spot with KW anchoring the innings at number 3? Expecting some tough calls will be taken.
Jasprit Bumrah to bowl the first over of the innings. Sunrisers Hyderabad back to the combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson. Can Mumbai Indians make it special for Sachin Tendulkar on his birthday at the iconic Wankhede? Let's find out!
FOUR ! First boundary of the innings, and this one comes off Williamson's bat in the form of a cracking cover drive! SRH 5/0
FOUR ! Another boundary off Williamson's bat, and this one's hit in the same direction as the last one! SRH 9/0
After 1 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 10/0 ( Shikhar Dhawan 1 , Kane Williamson (C) 9) Bumrah starts off with a bouncer, firing a warning to Dhawan. SRH skipper Williamson though, sets the tone with back-to-back fours, both coming off cracking cover drives. 10 off the first over, with two singles coming off the over aside from the boundaries.
FOUR ! First boundary for Dhawan. Gets a thick edge off a full delivery outside off, and there's no one protecting the third man fence. SRH 20/0
BOWLED EM ! Dhawan, having suffered a painful blow on his left knee off the previous delivery, gets an inside-edge, with the ball deflecting off his thigh and knocking the off-stump over. SRH 20/1 Dhawan b McClenaghan 5(6)
OUT! That's two wickets for McClenaghan off three deliveries! Saha reaches out to a full, wide delivery, and ends up nicking it to the keeper! SRH 20/2 Saha c Kishan b McClenaghan 0(2)
Mitchell McClenaghan has taken 45 wickets since 2016 in IPL which is now the third most by any bowler.
After 2 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 20/2 ( Kane Williamson (C) 10 , Manish Pandey 0) McClenaghan concedes five wides off the second delivery after firing the ball down Dhawan's leg side with Kishan unable to intercept the ball. Dhawan then stretches his arms to a full delivery outside off, getting a thick edge that sends the ball towards the third man fence for a four. The southpaw hurts his left knee, getting a thick inside edge with the ball hitting him on the part of the knee unprotected by the pad. The blow might have affected his concentration, as he gets his off-stump rattled next ball, getting a bit of an inside-edge and a deflection off his thigh in the process. Saha, batting at No 3 today, lasts just two deliveries, nicking the ball to the keeper off the last delivery to depart for a duck. 10 runs and two wickets off the over.
The blow copped on the previous ball must have affected Dhawan’s concentration and McClenaghan cashed in on it. Another inside edge but this time it crashed onto the stumps.
Dhawan continues after taking a blow around knee cap area, clearly he was rattled by it and loses his off stump the following delivery. First the elbow and now the knee, hasn't had the rub of green. Don't know what was the need for Saha to chase the wide delivery, but his dismissal has brought Manish Pandey in early, serves him the best opportunity for him to get an eye in and build a big innings. If he fails, all the pressure will once again be on the skipper.
FOUR ! Fine way for new batsman Pandey to get off the mark, opening the face of his bat and steering the ball off a back-of-length delivery between cover and point. SRH 25/2
After 3 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 28/2 ( Kane Williamson (C) 12 , Manish Pandey 6) Bumrah continues from the Tata End. Pandey gets off the mark with a confident punch through cover point off the third delivery of the over to get off the mark. Four singles collected off the remaining deliveries, with eight coming off the over.
FOUR! Pandey looks in good nick today! Another full delivery from McClenaghan punished, with the Karnataka batsman lofting it down the ground. Doesn't quite middle it, but gets the distance nevertheless. SRH 32/2
FOUR! Pandey goes inside-out on this occasion! Makes room for a loft, and sends it flying over extra-cover's head for his third boundary! SRH 38/2
From his last 10 IPL innings, Manish Pandey has crossed 30 runs mark four times but only converted one of them into a fifty-plus score. If SRH want to post a big total today then he will be a key man alongside Williamson.
After 4 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 38/2 ( Kane Williamson (C) 12 , Manish Pandey 16) Pandey continues to impress, smacking a full delivery from McClenaghan down the ground to collect his second boundary. Guides the ball towards deep backward point, where Krunal saves a couple of runs for Mumbai with some agile work. Pandey ends the over with a boundary, going for a lofted inside-out shot to guide the ball towards the fence between deep extra cover and long off. 10 off the over.
Hardik Pandya introduced into the attack in the fifth over of the innings.
FOUR ! Rough start for Hardik, as Williamson gets an inside-edge that beats short-fine, and runs away to the fence. SRH 42/2
Not a great second over from Mitchell McClenaghan but his first over was absolutely spot on. Didn’t bowl the best of deliveries but has given Mumbai an ideal start.
OUT ! Pandey advances down the track, but ends up driving the ball straight into the hands of Rohit Sharma at extra-cover. Wastes a good start. Looks like Hardik decided to alter his line a bit after spotting Pandey move down the track. SRH 44/3 Pandey c Rohit b Hardik 16(11)
After 5 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 45/3 ( Kane Williamson (C) 17 , Shakib Al Hasan 1) Hardik's introduced into the attack in the fifth over, and he starts off by conceding a boundary — Williamson getting an inside-edge that runs past short fine-leg. Wide and a single off the next two deliveries. Pandey wastes a superb start, holing out to Rohit at cover off the fourth delivery after advancing down the track, departing for 16. Shakib walks out to bat, with Hyderabad losing three wickets inside powerplay. Seven runs and a wicket off the over.
Rohit Sharma has taken 33 catches as a captain in IPL - the second most by any captain after Virat Kohli (37).
Meanwhile, birthday boy Sachin Tendulkar cuts the birthday cake at the sidelines. Wankhede sings him the birthday song.
Huge wicket! The way Manish Pandey was going it felt like he had finally found his rhythm. But another disappointing innings for him this IPL. Rohit has been constantly talking to his bowlers and so far has set the right fields. There is a theory which says that if a team a loses three wickets in the Powerplay, their chances of winning reduce by 75%, SRH have lost them already. The MI team management must be pleased with this start.
OUT! Suicidal running from Shakib, who is halfway down the pitch from the non-striker's end! Perfect throw by Suryakumar from near the striker's end! SRH 46/4 Shakib run out (Suryakumar) 2(4)
JUST IN: Australian pacer Billy Stanlake has flown back home, and is set to miss the rest of the IPL season due to a finger injury. (Source: Sunrisers Hyderabad official Twitter account)
Hyderabad make as many as four changes. Replace Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake with Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Nabi, Basil Thampi and Sandeep Sharma.
BOWLED EM ! Dhawan, having suffered a painful blow on his left knee off the previous delivery, gets an inside-edge, with the ball deflecting off his thigh and knocking the off-stump over. SRH 20/1
OUT! That's two wickets for McClenaghan off three deliveries! Saha reaches out to a full, wide delivery, and ends up nicking it to the keeper! SRH 20/2
OUT ! Pandey advances down the track, but ends up driving the ball straight into the hands of Rohit Sharma at extra-cover. Wastes a good start. Looks like Hardik decided to alter his line a bit after spotting Pandey move down the track. SRH 44/3
OUT! Suicidal running from Shakib, who is halfway down the pitch from the non-striker's end! Perfect throw by Suryakumar from near the striker's end! SRH 46/4
IPL 2018, Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mumbai, latest update and cricket score: Hardik's introduced into the attack in the fifth over, and he starts off by conceding a boundary — Williamson getting an inside-edge that runs past short fine-leg. Wide and a single off the next two deliveries. Pandey wastes a superb start, holing out to Rohit at cover off the fourth delivery after advancing down the track, departing for 16. Shakib walks out to bat, with Hyderabad losing three wickets inside powerplay. Seven runs and a wicket off the over.
Preview: Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to recover from the recent slump and get back to winning ways when they face an under-pressure Mumbai Indians in a league encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Sunrisers have slipped from a comfortable three-match winning start, suffering back-to-back defeats to Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) respectively, and would be keen to bounce back.
Defending champions Mumbai, on the other hand have a tough task to rediscover themselves after slumping to their fourth loss in five games.
Mumbai had started their campaign with three losses on the trot before registering their first win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the three-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Sunday has once again put them under tremendous pressure.
With nine games left before the play-off stage, Mumbai find themselves in a tight situation to win at least seven of them to improve their chances. As such, a win over SRH on Tuesday is imperative to keep them in the hunt.
Barring local boy Suryakumar Yadav's heroics with the willow, Mumbai have very little to boast of this season, with the other batsmen yet to deliver.
Yadav has had a consistent run of good scores in the opening slot, leaving him four short of reaching the 200 mark for the season, while skipper Rohit Sharma struck one match-winning knock of 94 against RCB.
Mumbai's biggest misery in batting has been the repeated failures of West Indian Keiron Pollard and his compatriot Evin Lewis, at the top while the all-rounder duo of Pandya brothers — Hardik and Krunal — have also failed to impress with the bat this season.
In the bowling department, the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman have been right on the money while Mitchell McClenaghan has got among the wickets despite finishing with a higher economy rate. The Pandya siblings have done a decent job with the ball.
Meanwhile, despite a three-match winning streak, Sunrisers find themselves at the lower half of the IPL table, thanks to the successive defeats to Kings XI and CSK.
While captain Kane Williamson has been in superb form, carrying the batting on his shoulders to amass 230 runs in five games, the other batsmen, including opener Shikhar Dhawan, have not given him adequate support.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has been particularly below par with a tally of just 62 runs and may soon make way for Shreevats Goswami.
Among other batsmen, Yusuf Pathan showed glimpses of his old attacking self against Rajasthan with a quick 27-ball 45, but still lacks consistency.
The bowling unit looks formidable with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the pack in the company of youngsters Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake and T.Natarajan.
Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan along with Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan will aim to contain the fancied Mumbai line-up in the middle overs.
(With inputs from IANS)