It is safe to say that we’re in the endgame now. We have 3 teams who have already qualified for the playoffs with the fourth one to he decided on Tuesday. It has come down to the final day for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are currently in the bottom half of the table with their fate still in their hands. A win in Sharjah will take them through to yet another playoff appearance. SRH win and they make it to the playoffs, otherwise it’s KKR who would make the top 4.

Match Details:

Match:

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians, Match 56

Date:

3rd November 2020, at 7:30 PM IST

Venue:

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

What To Expect:

Although Sharjah has a reputation for hosting high-scoring encounters given the dimensions of the ground, it hasn’t been too batting-friendly of late. The pacers should get the ball to move around early on. The spinners have also managed to do well at this venue recently, although they could be undone by dew in the latter half of the match. The batsmen will have to make good use of the conditions upfront, with the pitch slowing down as the match progresses despite the dew. Wickets in hand will be key for both sides, with 160-170 being a decent total at this venue. As previously mentioned, dew should play a big role in the proceedings, and this should prompt both teams to chase upon winning the toss in the final IPL 2020 league fixture.

Mumbai Indians:

 

Mumbai Indians, already assured of the top spot in the IPL points table. With nothing left to play for in the league stage except for momentum, the Mumbai Indians can afford to rest a couple of players such as Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, who have been utterly sensational in this year’s IPL. However, momentum could play a part heading into the knockouts, which might lure MI into fielding a strong side on Tuesday.

MI Predicted Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock/Chris Lynn, Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh/Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard (C) Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah/Dhawal Kulkarni

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

 

Despite the personnel concerns, David Warner and co have been utterly sensational this year with Kane Williamson and T Natarajan starring. They will be heavily reliant on Rashid Khan to do the damage yet again, with a win guaranteeing them the third spot on the IPL points table.

SRH Predicted Playing XI:

David Warner (C), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Jason Holder, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, Rashid Khan and T Natarajan

By Arvind Krishnan

Cricket writer, statistician and analyst. An unorthodox media student, marketing runs in his blood. Sports Marketer and analyst.