Daijiworld Media Network
Dubai, Apr 30: Their bowlers gave Chennai a late scare but their middle-order batting looks light. With the UAE leg winding up and the caravan heading to India, both teams will be vying for nothing less than a win to spark a revival of sorts.
When things don't go your way, they just don't go their way. Ask Mumbai. With their batsmen floundering game after game, they are left win-less in four attemps. Crossing swords with them are Hyderabad, who have just about managed to escape rock bottom.
Mumbai have won the toss and have opted to field.
Dhawan: 'We would have batted first. Our strength is at the top. We would like to put pressure on their batting in the second innings. We have two changes. Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha come in. We won a game over here. We are looking forward to this game. We have been doing well, our batsmen though need to make more runs on this wicket. Captaincy is a great challenge. It is a learing experience.'
Rohit: 'We want to field first. The wicket won't change too much. We want to know the target. We should get them to a low total. Early wickets will be crucial. We have done enough of talking in the meeting. We have one change with Ben Dunk replacing Mike Hussey. We need a win. It has been disappointing the way we played the last 4 games. We still believe we can turn things around. Today is the game. People in the UAE have been fantastic.'
Teams:
Hyderabad (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Aaron Finch, David Warner, Lokesh Rahul, Naman Ojha(w), Irfan Pathan, Darren Sammy, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn
Mumbai (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Aditya Tare, Ben Dunk, Corey Anderson, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Chidhambaram Gautam(w), Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha
Meanwhile, the official news is that West Indian batting all-rounder, Lendl Simmons has been signed up by Mumbai as a replacement for the injured Jalaj Saxena. Can Rohit, who is celebrating his birthday today, pull off a Faulkner to help Mumbai break their duck?
Match Preview
It is the last match in the UAE and it will feature the two bottom-dwellers of this season's tournament. The defending champions, Mumbai, having lost all their matches so far will look to salvage some pride before returning back to India for their remaining nine games. On the other hand, Hyderabad's position is no better. With 1 win and 3 losses, it has been a shaky start for Shikhar Dhawan's team.
Mumbai
Things have gone horrendously wrong for the defending champions, right from the day of the auction. Eyebrows were raised when they decided against retaining Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, Dwayne Smith and a host of others during the auctions. It has now spectacularly boomeranged on them; while the three players have been outstanding for their new franchises, the replacements have found things going tough in the Mumbai camp.
Batting has been the biggest worry for Rohit Sharma and his men. Scores of 122, 115, 141 and 125 tell the tale themselves. The MUM batsmen have passed fifty only once so far, and that is just an even 50 by skipper, Rohit Sharma. Michael Hussey and Corey Anderson, their two high profile buys in the auctions, have struggled to get going, while Kieron Pollard is yet to fire. Less said the better about the Indian contingent. Ambati Rayudu has been a pale shadow of himself, Rohit has frozen under immense pressure while Aditya Tare has not done anything substantial.
While the batting has been pedestrian, the bowling has mostly lived up to the expectations. Lasith Malinga continues to be impeccable while wily Zaheer Khan has complemented his Sri Lankan counter-part. The spin twins, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha have been tidy.
Hyderabad
Similar problems have engulfed Mumbai's opponents as well. A top-heavy batting, which has struggled to assert itself and a middle order that, does not brew any sort of confidence. Aaron Finch has been the stand-out, but with Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner not at their best, Hyderabad have struggled to conjure up match-winning scores. The one time they did against Delhi, the bowlers managed to stifle down the opposition. Darren Sammy and Karn Sharma showed some spark against Chennai in their last encounter, but the team needs more from the top-order if they are to move forward.
Despite boasting one of the best bowling attacks in the tournament, Hyderabad have been strangely lacklustre to an extent. Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been average at best, while Amit Mishra has been very expensive. Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan, two bowlers attempting a comeback into the Indian ODI side on the basis of a good show in the Indian T20 League, have done no favours for themselves with some appalling performances.
Team News:
Will Mumbai finally bite the bullet and drop Michael Hussey? The Australian legend has struggled right from the start and might make way for fellow Aussie, Ben Dunk. On the other hand, Hyderabad may be tempted to play an unchanged side despite three losses, especially after taking the game against Chennai to the final over.
Quotes:
The four games we have played, it was not our day. We still can change things - Rohit Sharma is hoping that things will turn for the better.
We haven't started off well but it can happen in T20 cricket. We've got the quality to bounce back - Aaron Finch is confident about a Hyderabad fight back.