Not 'just another game' for Mumbai Indians

'Just another game' was the refrain of Suryakumar Yadav on the eve of Mumbai Indians' last league match against SunRisers Hyderabad. That should go down as the understatement of IPL 2023.

That the Sunday afternoon clash at the Wankhede is much more than just another game for the five-time champions is a given. A playoffs berth is at stake and the side is in a must-win situation. The irony yet is that even a win may not suffice, so complicated is the points table logjam.

Some results need to go their way but the best case scenario for MI is to beat the bottom-placed SRH and wait for the result of the last league game, between RCB and GT, to know their chances of progressing into the last-four stage. A top-two finish, though, has been ruled out.

"It is just another game for us. From outside, yes, it looks like it is a big game, we have to wait for other results, etc but we know what we have been doing here at the Wankhede in the last 4-5 games. We know our strengths and strong areas, we back that and we will focus on those areas only," Surya, MI's batting mainstay, emphasised, trying to underplay the enormity of the situation.

MI's campaign took a beating with the away loss against Lucknow Super Giants on May 16. It was against the run of play - both in the match and in the season - but the IPL narrative became just that much more gripping because of that.

The MI hopes have got a boost with their return to the home ground where they have won the last three games and four of the six games. As the stats show, MI are the only side with more than 60 percent (66.7) win record at home. What is more, Surya, the No.1 T20I batsman in the world, has a very good record at home -- both overall (848 runs in 25 innings) and in the season (342 runs in six innings). They could be hoping Tilak Varma (274 in nine games at an average of 45 and with a strike rate of 158) will be available for the game.

With four wins in 13 games, SRH have nothing to lose in their final game. They have nothing to gain either, and IPL veterans say that in such situations there would be an air of informality in the side with most members busy packing bags and discussing return flight timings. But SRH promise to be the party poopers. "We are here, I would say, to upset the party for Mumbai. We want to win and end (the season) in that fashion (with a win)," coach Brian Lara said on the eve of the game.

With a foreign coach and a foreign captain, it has not been easy for the Brian Lara-Aiden Markram combination to handle the side and the former admitted in as many words. But he gave full marks to the captain from South Africa for his leadership.

"We were both newcomers -- the captain and the coach. But in terms of leadership, on and off the field, I felt we as a unit were learning as we go along. It is not something that comes easily. I think Aiden did a tremendous job and we will do some sort of review and reflection to see how we can work things out for the betterment next year. But it is always going to be difficult coming into an environment and trying to lead, and if I can speak for myself, I will definitely learn from this experience," the cricket legend said.

When: Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 3:30 PM IST

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect: Another true surface on offer. This will be the second afternoon game at the venue this season, with the first one going the chasing side's way. Expect the toss-winning captain to bowl first again in line with the trends at this venue.

Team Watch:

Mumbai Indians

MI would be fretting over the availability of Tilak Varma, one of the more successful batters for them in the season, who last played against Punjab Kings on May 3. One between Nehal Wadhera and Vishnu Vinod could make way.

Tactics & matchups: Unleashing a left-arm spinner against Suryakumar would be an option for SRH. Since 2019, Suryakumar strikes against left-arm orthodox spin at only 102 and SRH have Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Dagar in their ranks for this matchup.

Probable XI: Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera/Tilak Varma, Tim David, Chris Jordan, Vishnu Vinod, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Kumar Kartikeya

SunRisers Hyderabad

On the eve of the game, coach Lara was all praise for Umran Malik and declared that he is fit. The J&K pacer may get a look-in.

Tactics & matchups: Heinrich Klaasen will once again be key against spin in the middle overs. This season, he has scored 260 runs against spin at an average of 130 and a strike-rate of 194. His battle with Piyush Chawla, who has the most wickets between overs 7-15, will be the one to watch out for.

Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, Kartik Tyagi,/Umran Malik Mayank Dagar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nitish Reddy

Did you know?

- Suryakumar and Klaasen are the top two run-getters at No.3 or below this season.

- Tim David has a strike-rate of 221.57 in nine games at the Wankhede.

What they said

Absolutely, we have the advantage because having a home game is always better irrespective of the team we play against. This is our last league game and whenever you think about it, you always think it would be better to end the league round with a home game. The support will be good obviously. It will be hot tomorrow but it will be fun. - Suryakumar Yadav, MI batter

This game tomorrow and the previous game, you want to see players come out, so we are relaxed in our selection policy and still put a team out on park that will compete. I don't think we shuffled too much unnecessarily. We played the best 12 that we could find. We have to learn from and it's not a great idea to think about what went wrong. - Brian Lara, SRH coach