Fantasy: Top order batters and spinners are safe bets

The 25th match of IPL 2023 will see the Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Mumbai Indians at home. Both teams are coming off some comprehensive performances, and will look to carry on their momentum with this game as well.

Ground Details

The wicket in Hyderabad is known to be conducive for stroke play, with an average score around the 180-run mark. The dimensions of the ground are on the shorter side, resulting in the venue seeing a number of boundaries and sixes being hit. 

In T20s since 2019, the average winning score batting first is 197 runs. The wicket stayed true to its nature in the first home game of the season against the Rajasthan Royals, where the flamboyant top order powered the visiting side to 203 runs in the first innings. However, the second game at Hyderabad saw pacers wreak havoc with the new ball. They took a wicket every 16 balls, and conceded runs only at 6.3 RPO

The surface will assist the seamers with the new ball, as in the 11 T20 matches since 2019, the fast bowlers have scalped 75 wickets out of 123, with three to four wickets on average every innings. 

Suggested Team

While you could go for the above team, you can choose your team from Cricket.com's Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Captaincy Options

Small Leagues: Tilak Varma (C), Marco Jansen (VC)

Grand Leagues: Ishan Kishan (C), Suryakumar Yadav (VC)

Stats That Matter

Abhishek Sharma had a breakout IPL season in 2022, scoring 426 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 130. Surprisingly, to accommodate Brook at the top, they slotted Abhishek out of position this season. In their previous game, he showed his adaptability when he scored 32 off 17 after coming in at #5. Expect him to give you some consistent runs.

Since his move to SRH in 2022, Washington Sundar's bowling form has seen a steep decline. He conceded runs at 8.54 RPO, and took a wicket only every 28 balls. In IPL 2023, he has conceded runs at 9.86 RPO and is yet to take a wicket. Despite showing glimpses of his potential, he’s yet to come good with the bat in IPL. An average of 13.9 and a strike rate of 112.8 across five seasons shows how badly he has underperformed. 

Rohit Sharma has struggled to get going against off-spinners in the IPL, and SRH can use Aiden Markram and Washington Sundar to exploit this. Rohit averages less than 10 and strikes less than 100 against Sundar in the IPL.

Grand League Punts

Ishan Kishan has done a fantastic job of attacking bowlers in the powerplay, scoring 116 runs at a strike rate of 168. The reason for this has been his performance against pacers; he has operated at a strike rate of 178 against them in IPL 2023.

Suryakumar Yadav had a rough start to this season, with his scores in his first three innings being 15, 1, and 0. But, he got things back on track in his recent match against KKR, scoring 43 from 25 balls. Post IPL 2022, he displayed excellent form in T20Is as he maintained an impressive strike rate of 170+ in the middle overs, while hiking it to a massive 247 at the death.

Probable XIs

Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Arjun Tendulkar, Riley Meredith

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (C), Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Marco Jansen, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan