A lot can change in a week. Only Net Run Rate had separated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI) when the two locked horns at the Wankhede Stadium last Thursday.
MI comfortably won that contest and built on that by beating Chennai Super Kings. It now sits two places and four points above SRH heading into their rematch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Wednesday.
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While Sunrisers mathematically remain in contention to finish in the top four, they need to make the most of their home games.
The only two times SRH’s batting unit, one of the strongest on paper, has clicked this year have been at home on a belter of a wicket, which saw Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma notch up centuries. With no wins on the road, home form will be key to where SRH finishes when the curtain falls.
MI, on the other hand, heads into the fixture on the back of three wins on the trot. After a slow start to the season, the Hardik Pandya-led unit has slowly built momentum to wage another late surge up the table.
All eyes will also be on local boy Tilak Varma, who will be keen to emulate fellow Hyderabadi Mohammed Siraj’s heroics and leave the home side in tatters.
Dale Steyn, SRH’s former bowling coach, had predicted that the IPL would witness its first 300 when these two sides faced off last week. The flat Hyderabad pitch might be the perfect arena to bring that to fruition. Which team will breach the ceiling first remains to be seen.