HYDERABAD: By the looks of it, Sunrisers Hyderabad look like the team to beat this edition. Propelled by the opening pair of David Warner (264 runs) and Jonny Bairstow (246), the team has recovered from a loss in the opening match to steal a hat-trick of wins.
The revered bowling unit credited with taking the side out of choppy waters on multiple occasions, looked a pale shadow of itself in the first three encounters. In the last one against Delhi Capitals, the arsenal got back into business, restricting the hosts to 129/8.
It also signalled the comeback of India ace Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had not picked up a single wicket until then, as he returned with impressive figures of 2/27. However, with Mumbai Indians set to pay a visit on Saturday, an old issue is still haunting the Orange Army: the middle-order muddle.
Mumbai, who have won and lost two each, have not had the best of contributions from the top and middle order. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock have put together 50-run stands two times, but if not for some late blows from the Pandya brothers, Mumbai would have found it difficult to score 170 or more in their four matches.
Asked about the underwhelming performance of the specialist batsmen, Mumbai No 3 Suryakumar Yadav, who has made important contributions of 38 and 59 in winning causes, said: “I feel they have done well. We have not got starts (that we wanted), but they are batting well. We have discussed this matter, and looking at Hyderabad, they have been putting their hearts out in the nets. It is just a matter of one game. Hopefully, we will get it this time.”
Yuvraj Singh, who had a decent run in the first two matches at No 4, has struggled in the last two. Ishan Kishan, who tallied 275 in 14 matches last season with a strike-rate of 149.45, might be considered over the veteran. Mumbai will have to do some more shuffling as pace ace Lasith Malinga has gone back to Sri Lanka for a domestic tournament.
When it comes to Hyderabad, middle-order batsmen seem to be caught in a perpetual state of failure. Manish Pandey has managed only 19 in four matches. His average of 23.31 since the last season is the worst among batsmen who have faced at least 250 balls. Other than Vijay Shankar, the middle-order is yet to perform this season.
There is no word on regular skipper Kane Williamson, who has missed three games till now. It could mean another chance for Mohammad Nabi, who has excelled the two times he has turned up.