With Playoff berth in sight, SunRisers Hyderabad take on Mumbai Indians in do-or-die game

In the final game of IPL 2020 league stage, SunRisers Hyderabad will lock horns with Mumbai Indians in match number 56 on Tuesday (November 3) from the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

SunRisers Hyderabad currently have 12 points from their 13 games and sit at the fifth position on the points table. KKR occupy the fourth spot in the points table with 14 points, after having completed all their 14 league games. Here’s the catch though – SRH have a better net run-rate than KKR and if they beat Mumbai tonight, they will qualify to the IPL 2020 Playoffs. Is SRH lose tonight, they are out and KKR are through.

While Mumbai Indians have already qualified for the Playoffs stage, being the first team to do so, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore secured their berths on Monday (November 2). Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore have secured the first three positions respectively for the Playoffs with the last berth being up for grabs between KKR and SRH.

Coming back to the match, SunRisers who looked down and out at one stage, sparked their waning campaign with two huge wins on the trot which has also given them the edge over the other sides in terms of net run-rate. SRH first defeated the Capitals by 88-runs and then in their last outing, they chased RCB’s total of 120 in just 14.1 overs- winning the game by 5 wickets.

While SRH’s bowling has always been their strong point, the change in their fortunes has been caused because of their better batting – the inclusion of the seasoned Wriddhiman Saha into their XI has perhaps been their trump card. Saha, in just his two games, has played a match-winning knock of 87 (off 45 balls) and followed it up with a gritty 39 (off 32 balls) against Delhi and Bangalore respectively. He has looked in imperious touch and completely defied his age – with no bowlers having any answers against him.

Skipper David Warner, too, has started to play with freedom in the last few games and is still in the race for the Orange Cap – something he has already won thrice previously, the only player in IPL to do so.

Jason Holder has provided the breakthroughs with the ball and justified his inclusion into the side but his contribution with the bat lower down the order has also pleasantly surprised many. In their last game against RCB, he castled the bowlers all over the park and finished with 26* off just 10 balls – getting the victory for his side in emphatic fashion.

Their bowling department is one to be reckoned with the likes of Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan all displaying mastery over their craft.

Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, won their last game against Delhi Capitals easily – beating them by 9 wickets even after resting their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and regular skipper Rohit Sharma being out injured. They are the strongest contenders of this edition by far and will start as the favorites tonight.

SunRisers Hyderabad, with everything on the line will clash with the defending champions and tournament favorites Mumbai Indians in this final league game of IPL 2020 – it all promises to be an all-out thriller.