Overview: Bumrah vs. Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad has become one of T20 cricket’s most formidable batters over the past few years. He finished first in the IPL 2023 with 448 runs at a strike rate of 177. He started the 2024 season at Eden Gardens with a fierce performance, nearly surpassing Andre Russell with 63 off 29 balls. Klaasen was the only reason the SRH kept in the race for a prolonged period of time, even though all of the other SRH batters received starts against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad on Wednesday can present Klaasen with a fresh test. Almost, anyway. He has just faced one ball in his head-to-head match against Jasprit Bumrah, but he has already scored one run. He has faced 20 deliveries from Bumrah in ODIs and has 18 runs for one wicket conceded. A fresh match-up between two elite players is rare in the overabundance of franchise and international cricket.
Given the significance of Klaasen to Sunrisers, Mumbai may decide to save most of Bumrah’s overs for when he is in the thick of the bat. They will undoubtedly limit the amount of spin bowled to Klaasen, who has a strike rate of 193 and an average of 148.5 against spin in Twenty20 cricket since the beginning of 2023. But Klaasen is also no pushover when it comes to pace. With a career strike rate of 148.45 against the quicks, he easily defeated Mitchell Starc on Saturday, hitting three sixes in one over.
However, Bumrah is typically a class apart. He returned to the league with a session of 3 for 14 in Mumbai’s season opener against Gujarat Titans, despite two of his overs coming at the death, following his absence from the IPL 2023 due to a back ailment. All of which paves the way for an exciting match between Mumbai and Sunrisers as they both aim for their first IPL 2024 points against Klaasen..
For the Sunrisers, who finished last season with six straight home losses and would really like to get off to a winning start in Hyderabad this year, the match is particularly important.
Highlighted: Aiden Markram and Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was jeered at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during his maiden game as captain of the Mumbai Indians. Pandya had gone to the home ground of the side he had captained in the IPL. On social media, he received a lot of hate as well, particularly for ordering Rohit Sharma to field on the boundary. A few of Hardik’s other captaincy choices were also questioned, such as choosing to bat at No. 7 below Tim David and open the bowling himself, only bringing on Bumrah in the fourth over of the Titans innings. Will Hardik Pandya get more love in Hyderabad?
Prior to this season, Pat Cummins took over as captain of the Sunrisers franchise in Hyderabad after Aiden Markram guided the Eastern Cape-based team to consecutive SA20 championships. Markram’s stock has declined here. Picked for the first match between SRH and Kolkata, Markram scored eighteen runs off of thirteen balls. To maintain his position ahead of Travis Head and Glenn Phillips in the overseas pecking order after a dismal IPL 2023 (248 runs at a strike rate of 126), he must fast regain his form this year.
Team updates and how they affect player tactics
Hyderabad’s Sunrisers
Wanindu Hasaranga, a legspinner for the Sunrisers, has not yet joined the team and is not anticipated to be available for at least a week as he seeks medical advice abroad over persistent soreness in his left heel. The Sunrisers must decide if they want to stick with Marco Jansenโwho cost a lot against KKRโas their foreign bowling option going forward.
Impact Player strategy: after bowling at Eden Gardens, SRH replaced fast bowler T Natarajan with opener Abhishek Sharma for the chase.
Mayank Agarwal, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Abdul Samad, and three more are likely candidates for rank XII. 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Zazhaq Farooqi/Marco Jansen, The order of Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, and T Natarajan is 9โ10.
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians are still without Suryakumar Yadav while he heals following surgery on his ankle at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Additionally, it is unlikely that he will be available for Mumbai’s first home game on April 1 against the Titans, where the team only selected three overseas players for their starting XI, replacing fast bowler Luke Wood with middle-order batsman Dewald Brevis for the chase. Probable XII: 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Naman Dhir, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Tim David, 8 Shams Mulani, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Piyush Chala, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Luke Wood
Stats that matter
The Mumbai Indians have defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad four times in the last five meetings.Jasprit Bumrah has 16 wickets against Sunrisers in 13 games.Pat Cummins strikes out at 181.81 against the Mumbai Indians while averaging 40 at bat.
Quotes
“The team seems to be precisely the same to me. We still have objectives, and the team dynamic is excellent. Along with Hardik, Rohit is still an incredible leader, and I learn something new from him every day. He teaches me things. I think our team is in a great place and that we are prepared for whatever is ahead of us.
Dewald Brevis on the Mumbai Indians’ new skipper