With a spot in playoffs looming large, Rohit Sharma’s team Mumbai are bracing themselves for a visit of David Warner-less team Hyderabad at the Wankhede stadium on Thursday.
Unlike Chennai and Delhi, both Mumbai and Hyderabad do not have the luxury of dreaming about the next round of the tournament given that only two points separate them in the point table. Mumbai, who sit third on the table, have 14 points in their kitty and Hyderabad follow the suit closely at fourth with 12 points.
If we are to judge the teams’ head-to-head records, there’s very little to separate them and figure out who has been a better side between the two. These two teams have clashed 13 times in the past, and tonight’s visitors, Hyderabad have won seven of them.
However, the last time these two titans clashed, a certain Alzarri Joseph proved out to be the lynchpin for Mumbai after scalping six wickets for mere 12 runs.
That being said, let’s take a look at who should be your top picks from the game.
Batsman: Quinton de Kock
With no Warner and Bairstow to choose from, Mumbai opener Quinton de Kock remains the safest bet for fantasy managers. Scoring 393 runs in 12 games, the South African batsman remains Mumbai’s highest run scorer of the season and expect him to make telling impact in the game.
He has seemed a bit out of form in recent times, but you never know how he may react to it against Hyderabad, who unlike Mumbai are coming on a back of a 45-run victory over team Punjab.
All-rounder: Hardik Pandy
The Mumbai all-rounder is sure to give you extra bonus with his ability of hitting the bowlers in every part of the park. This coupled with his ability of taking regular wickets, we expect Pandya to play a big role if Mumbai are to get anything from the fixture.
Coming on the back a 34-ball 91, Pandya – despite coming down the order – is his team’s second highest run-getter of the tournament and has contributed 17.76% (second best after de Kock) runs in Mumbai’s tally. Furthermore, his balls/boundaries ratio of 3.44 is the best from his team. With the ball, he remains a doom for Hyderabad’s in-form batsman, Manish Pandey having dismissed him on two occasions.
Bowler: Rashid Khan
Coming on the back of an impressive 3/21 against Punjab, Hyderabad’s wrist spinner Rashid Khan will be roaring in confidence. Apart from that, both of Mumbai’s big hitters – Pollard and Pandya – have failed to assert any kind of authority against the spinner. Pandya, who has faced 26 balls against the Afghan, has scored mere 14 runs and has been dismissed twice. Pollard, on the other hand, has faced 22 deliveries and has scored just 12 runs, while losing his wickets once.
While their captain, Rohit Sharma, has failed to find any firm solution to Rashid's deliveries, having scored just 17 runs in 13 balls.
