Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bat first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-stakes group encounter at Wankhede. The choice to put runs on the board was a notable one, with the last time an IPL captain decided to bat first at this venue dating back to April 2023. Since then, in IPL matches at the ground, the side winning the toss had consistently gone on to bowl first across 21 consecutive games.
Explaining the decision, Hardik described it as a “breezy, slightly cold evening” compared to normal conditions and felt dew would not significantly influence the contest. Mumbai also arrived with a reshuffled lineup. Rohit Sharma remains unavailable due to fitness, and Hardik indicated the veteran will need “a couple of more games” to fully get past his hamstring problem. Quinton de Kock was also left out with a wrist injury. Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the tournament because of a shoulder issue.
Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks were brought into the batting order, with both expected to open based on the team sheet. Robin Minz gets his first appearance of the season, while Trent Boult returns to the XI for Mumbai’s batting unit. For the Impact Player slot, Shardul Thakur or Krish Bhagat could be used depending on match-up and conditions.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, captain Pat Cummins said the plan was to bowl on a wicket he expected to be tacky. SRH have selected Harsh Dubey as their finger-spinner instead of opting for the wrist-spin of Shivang Kumar, a selection that could also be tied to the likelihood of dew later in the innings. Aniket Verma is available as the Impact Player option for SRH.
SRH enter the match on a strong run, having won four straight games. They sit fourth in the points table with ten points, and a victory here could help them move higher. Mumbai, in contrast, have struggled this season, occupying ninth place with only two wins from seven matches. Even more concerning for MI is their record at home, where they have lost three of their last four games at the venue—including a 103-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings, which stands as a franchise record loss.
Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Naman Dhir, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Robin Minz, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Ashwani Kumar.
Bench: Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Krish Bhagat, Raj Bawa.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Henrich Klaasen, 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Salil Arora, 7 Pat Cummins (capt), 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Eshan Malinga, 10 Praful Hinge, 11 Sakib Hussain.
Bench: R Smaran, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel.
