IPL 2021: SRH vs MI, Match 31 – How can Sunrisers Hyderabad upset Mumbai Indians today?

IPL 2021: SRH vs MI, Match 31 – How can Sunrisers Hyderabad upset Mumbai Indians today?

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on Mumbai Indians (MI) today at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi, hoping to spring up a surprise on the defending champions. The Orange Army have been in woeful form so far as they find themselves rock-bottom on the points table with just one win out of their first seven and in desperate need of a spectacular turnaround.

Their opponents for today, MI are a rejuvenated bunch at the moment having won two matches in a row after an indifferent start that saw them on two wins out of five. The defending champions seem to have found their groove with the bat and they will be overwhelming favourites to come up trumps in today’s match unless SRH pull something out of the bag.

On that note, we take a look at how SRH can defeat MI today.

IPL 2021: SRH vs MI – Key for SRH #1: Jonny Bairstow must fire

Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow

With all the talk about SRH having a weak middle-order, the fact of the matter is that it looks almost impossible to rectify that issue at the moment. Therefore, the key will be for the SRH top-order to bat for as long as possible and not expose the middle-order early to the MI bowlers.

For that, Jonny Bairstow holds key. The Englishman is among the very few in his team who can hit the big shots regularly and a lot will depend on how good of a start he gets his team to.

IPL 2021: SRH vs MI – Key for SRH #2: Use bowlers cleverly

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad

Captain Kane Williamson‘s use of bowlers in the previous match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) was markedly different from how David Warner used them. The New Zealander opted for Rashid Khan in as early as the third over and it paid dividends as the leggie got rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, Rashid’s spell was completed by the 11th over – the earliest he had ever finished a four-over spell in the IPL. Mohammad Nabi was held back, hoping that the right-handers would be dismissed before that. However, with no wickets in sight, Nabi had to be bowled late in the game and the offie was hit for 21 runs. A better use of bowlers today would be key especially with regard to the spinners.

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