IPL: Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni Propel Chennai Super Kings to 154/4 vs Kolkata Knight Riders

                                     

Riding on an enterprising half century by Suresh Raina, Chennai Super Kings posted a challenging 154/4 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens here Tuesday. 

After starting off cautiously, Raina (65; 52b, 3x4, 5x6), played at his enterprising best and stitched two crucial half-century partnerships - first with Brendon McCullum, and then with F. du Plesis - to enable CSK set KKR an asking rate of 7.75 that looks challenging score on a slow turning wicket of the Eden. 

Unbeaten cameos by by skipper M.S. Dhoni (21;15b, 1x4, 1x6) and Ravindra Jadeja (9; 4b, 1x6) took CSK past 150. 

Opting to field first, Knights' skipper Gambhir's decision to play Aussie pacer Pat Cummins instead of regular pacer Morne Morkel paid immediate dividends when the lanky pacer knocked down the stumps of the dangerous Dwayne Smith 5 (6b; 1x4) with a beauty of a delivery in his very first over.

Smith's fall brought in Raina, who mixed caution with aggression alongside Brendon McCullum as Chennai moved to 35/1 at the end of the sixth over.

Gambhir rotated his bowlers in search of further inroads but the two batsmen played stoically, hitting the occasional boundaries to take their team past the 50 run mark in the eighth over.

The Super Kings' hopes of building on the solid foundation, received a jolt when McCullum (28; 24b, 1x4, 2x6) skied a Sunil Narine delivery to be smartly caught by Surya Kumar Yadav running in from long-off.

The dashing McCullum, who hit two sixes off one Cummins' over, looked threatening but the wily Narine struck gold to dash his hopes of any further heroics.

The in-form Raina though continued unfazed as he hit leggie Piyush Chawla for two consecutive sixes and a four to score yet another half century for the Chennai outfit.

The visitors cruised past 100 in the 15th over, but the 62-run third wicket partnership was broken when du Plessis (23; 20b, 2x4) was run out by Chawla in the 17th over with the score on 122/3.

Soon after, Raina holed out in the deep trying to hit Chawla out of the park.

Narine A(1/24) was at his economic best for the Knights while Chawla (1/42) and Cummins 1/29 were the other wicket takers.

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IPL 7: Sunrisers Hyderabad Skipper Darren Sammy Confident of Reaching Playoffs

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Darren Sammy is hopeful that his side will qualify for the knock-out stage after their seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a must-win Indian Premier League game at Hyderabad. Hyderabad (sixth spot) and Bangalore have 10 points each with the latter taking the fifth spot in the points table due to marginally better Net Run Rate.

"It feels good, to win a crunch game. We have not played well so far, but we still have a chance to qualify. We have to play well in the next couple of matches," Sammy said. 

Shikhar Dhawan, who was stripped off captaincy before their previous fixtures against Kolkata Knight Riders, scored his first fifty this season. He and David Warner (59) stitched a 100-run stand for the first wicket to script a valuable win. 

"AB (de Villiers) and (Virat) Kohli batted brilliantly but (Shikhar) Dhawan and (David) Warner got us off to a great start, and 160 wasn't enough in the end," Sammy added.

Both teams need to win their remaining two games to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain Virat Kohli Reflects on Difficult Times, Backs Himself to Strike Form

Virat Kohli says his poor form in the ongoing Indian Premier League is teaching him how to mature in cricket. The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain has scored all of 154 runs in 10 IPL matches, way below his amazing standards. Kohli has acknowledged his poor run and says he is just one good innings away from regaining the form he is usually known for.

Speaking in Bangalore after Yuvraj Singh scripted RCB's 16-run win against Delhi Daredevils at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli looked relaxed and unlike his IPL batting, more in control of himself. He even found time for some 'dry' humour to explain his mode of dismissals in the tournament so far.

"I have got out in every possible way in this IPL...the only thing left is hit-wicket," Kohli joked. On Tuesday against Delhi Daredevils, Kohli was run out after scoring 10 off 11 deliveries.

"All this is a phase of cricket and part of the game. I have got to be mature enough to understand that. People are going to pull me down where they put me up during the World Cup.

"It's fine...I mean it's frustrating when the team doesn't get the right results. I am not so worried about my performance. If the team keeps winning, I am happy," said Kohli.

Kohli has always set his own benchmark. He has been a revelation in all forms of cricket and expectations around him are naturally high. Last season, Kohli was among the top scorers. So far, the Indian vice-captain has been a flop show with three zeroes.

"I was captain last year I scored 680 runs. That's not the pressure I am taking. I was playing pretty well after the World Cup and I am still hitting the ball well. I always wanted to lead from the front and when things don't go your way, you try a bit too hard.

"I is better to accept things the way they are going rather than get frustrated. This harms you even more and I have realized that. I am learning to take this in my stride. As long as team wins, I am not worried about how much I am scoring," Kohli said. 

Kohli said his decision to open the innings was an experiment. He feels that opening the innings in limited overs cricket should not be made a big issue.

"I have opened for India in T20 cricket. If someone gets out in the first over, you are more or less an opener. For me it's watching the ball and reacting to it and that is exactly what I do at No. 3 as well. It doesn't matter if I come in the first or 10th over," Kohli explained.

Saying he was one innings away from striking a good patch, Kohli said: "I am someone who always believes in my abilities, so I need just one good game. It's not a drought that I am going through. In a tournament like IPL, it's very hard to come out of a zone you have been into. I have to be mature enough to take this in my stride."

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IPL 7: Mumbai Indians Post 141/5 vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Cuttack

Sent into bat, Mumbai Indians scored 141 for five against Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians: 141/5 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 51, Ambati Rayudu 33; Morne Morkel 2/35, Sunil Narine 1/18).

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IPL 7 Live Cricket Score, KKR vs MI: Uthappa Falls After Putting Kolkata On Top

Kolkata Knight Riders take on Mumbai Indians at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. Follow live updates of the match here:

22.54 (IST): SIXES! Robin Uthappa slams two sixes off Lendl Simmons to narrow down the chase. KKR 113/2 in 15.3 overs, need 29 to win from 27 balls.

22.48 (IST): OUT! Manish Pandey (14) is gone, bowled by Harbhajan Singh. Kolkata 96/2 in 14.1 overs.

22.47 (IST): Kolkata Knight Riders 96/1 in 14 overs, need 46 runs off 36 balls.

22.42 (IST): Jasprit Bumrah returns and is welcomed by Uthappa with a boundary. Uthappa cuts the ball in front of point for four. KKR 93/1 in 13.2 overs, need 50 to win from 40 balls.

22.35 (IST): Fifty for Uthappa! His 11th in IPL, off 34 balls! KKR 76/1 in 10.4 overs.

22.30 (IST): At the halfway stage, KKR reach 68/1 in 10 overs with Uthappa (45) and Manish Pandey (5) in the middle.

22.21 (IST): OUT! Gambhir is gone! He has chopped a ball from Harbhajan onto his stumps. He departs for 14, Kolkata 50/1 in 7.2 overs

22.14 (IST): KKR have collected 45 runs in the powerplay without the loss of a wicket. Uthappa (32) and Gambhir (10) going along nicely in their chase of 142.

22.07 (IST): SIX! Uthappa hits Pragyan Ojha for a six over long on. (KKR 37/0 in 4.3 overs)

22.04 (IST): Uthappa goes after Bumrah! He collects two back-to-back fours to take KKR to 31/0 in 4 overs.

22.01 (IST): FOUR! Robin Uthappa comes down the track to Harbhajan Singh and JUST clears Lasith Malinga at mid-off, off Harbhajan Singh (KKR 21/0 in 3 overs)

21.58 (IST): This is good risk-free cricket from KKR. They have 13 runs from two overs and have hardly given Mumbai a chance to breakthrough.

21.52 (IST): The KKR openers pick up seven runs off the first over. With just 141 to get, there is no real need for them to go after the bowling. Mumbai, on the other hand, need a wicket.

21.45 (IST): Lasith Malinga to open the bowling for Mumbai. Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir walk out to kick-start Kolkata's chase

21.41 (IST): Shakib al Hasan: Overall our bowling effort has been good. The ball is keeping low and is difficult to bat on. Hopefully our batsmen can do the job.

21.40 (IST): Ambati Rayudu: I think we are 10 runs short on this wicket. We need to bowl really well. I think the wicket is two-paced. Some balls are coming on nicely but some are keeping low. A few early wickets and we would be in the game.

21.38 (IST): Here's the wagon wheel of the Mumbai Indians

21.37 (IST): This is how Mumbai's batting panned out.

21.35 (IST): Exceptional effort in the field from KKR to restrict Mumbai to a below-par total of 141 on a wicket that seems to be slightly two-faced. A lot of deliveries kept low and put the batsmen in a spot of bother. To top that, KKR had Sunil Narine (1/18), Shakib al Hasan (1/21) and Piyush Chawla (1/32) in their ranks. Morne Morkel was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 2/35. For Mumbai, Rohit Sharma led the way with a half-century.

21.30 (IST): Mumbai Indians post 141/5 in 20 overs.

21.25 (IST): Rohit Sharma is gone! Oh dear, what has he done? He tries a cheeky shot over fine leg off Sunil Narine and is bowled! He goes for 51. (MI 138/5 in 19.2 overs)

21.22 (IST): Fifty for Rohit Sharma! His 21st in IPL! It has come in 43 balls.

21.18 (IST): Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma continues to time the ball to perfection. He cuts the Shakib behind point for four to move into the 40s (MI 123/4 in 17 overs)

21.13 (IST): Oh dear! Tame dismissal here as Corey (18) hits one straight to Piyush Chawla at mid-wicket. (MI 115/4 in 16 overs)

21.12 (IST): Another SIX! Rohit punishes a length ball from Morkel, hits it over covers (MI 114/3 in 15.4 overs)

21.11 (IST): SIX! Rohit Sharma with some sublime timing there! He lofts one off Morkel over mid-off for a six (MI 107/3 in 15.3 overs)

21.07 (IST): Here's how Piyush Chawla's spell panned out.

21.03 (IST): Live bloggers curse? Could be! Corey Anderson rips apart Chawla! A straight six followed by a cut for four and then Rohit Sharma gets another four! 17 runs come off the over. (MI 93/3 in 14 overs)

21.01 (IST): Piyush Chawla to bowl his final over. He has conceded just 15 runs off his first three overs and has a wicket.

20.54 (IST): Dropped! Yusuf Pathan drops Rohit Sharma off Morkel! (MI 71/3 in 12.3 overs)

20.52 (IST): Rayudu started well but threw it away! Here's how his innings panned out.

20.50 (IST): OUT! Ambati Rayudu (33) is gone, caught by Suryakumar Yadav at long on off Piyush Chawla. (MI 70/3 in 11.5 overs)

20.48 (IST): Spinners are doing a good job for the Kolkata Knight Riders here.

20.45 (IST): At the halfway stage, MI reach 62/2 with Rohit (9), Rayudu (27) in the middle.

20.37 (IST): Here's how Mumbai Indians' first fifty runs have come.

20.35 (IST): Fifty up for Mumbai! Rayudu cuts Yusuf behind point for a four! (MI 53/2 in 8.4 overs)

20.27 (IST): Rayudu goes inside out! What a shot! Umesh Yadav gets the ball to move in the air a bit but Rayudu gets on top of it and hits it over covers! (MI 41/2 in 6.2 overs)

20.26 (IST): Bad start for Mumbai Indians here! They have managed just 37 runs in powerplay overs. Rohit Sharma is out in the middle with Ambati Rayudu who desperately need to string together a partnership.

20.23 (IST): Oh dear! What was Lendl Simmons thinking? He came down the track to Shakib and attempted a wild swing. But the ball missed everything and crashed onto the leg stump (MI 35/2 in 5.2 overs)

20.19 (IST): Gambhir makes an early change! Brings in Shakib al Hasan to bowl the fourth over. Lendl Simmons collects two boundaries off it! (Mumbai 31/1, 4 overs)

20.17 (IST): SIX! Ambati Rayudu dances down the track and lofts Morne Morkel for a six over mid-on. What a shot from the man in form! (Mumbai 23/1, 2.5 overs)

20.15 (IST): Previous game's hero Ambati Rayudu is new the man in.

20.10 (IST): Another failed opening stand for Mumbai Indians! CM Gautam is gone, caught by Suryakumar Yadav at mid-wicket off Morne Morkel (Mumbai 12/1, 2.2 overs)

20.00 (IST): Morne Morkel bowls the first over. Mumbai Indians open with Lendl Simmons and CM Gautam.

19:36 (IST): Gautam Gambhir decides to have a bowl against Mumbai Indians in Cuttack. Shakib al Hasan comes in place of Jacques Kallis.

Preview

High on confidence after beating Kings XI Punjab in their previous game, Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue the winning momentum when they take on erratic defending champions Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match today.

The last time the two sides faced off in the tournament opener in the United Arab Emirates, the Knight Riders came out triumphant.

The Kolkata outfit, though, has been struggling to find its feet in the ongoing tournament, but back-to-back victories, especially a win against a strong Punjab side at this very venue, must have done its confidence a world of good.

KKR, who are placed fourth in the points table with four wins and five loses in nine games, would certainly be keen to go all out for a victory and brighten their chances of making the play-off stage.

Kolkata's batting has clicked against both Delhi Daredevils and KXIP, with underfire skipper Gautam Gambhir leading from the front striking a couple of superb half-centuries to guide the team to victory.

The defending champions, with just three victories from nine games so far, are well aware that they would have to win all their remaining matches if they want a berth in the play-offs.

They will take inspiration from the seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad last night.

Despite most of their batsmen being among runs, Mumbai have faltered a little too often in this tournament so far.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and West Indian powerhouse Kieron Pollard have been successful in the current season. Even Ambati Rayudu have contributed with runs. 

Lendl Simmons Wants To Make Himself Count For Mumbai

In a short span of two games, Mumbai Indians' Lendl Simmons has made an impression and the opening batsman says he wants to hit a fifty in every outing to enhance his team's chances of reaching the IPL play-offs. Simmons (68) along with Ambati Rayudu (68) put on 130 runs for the second wicket as Mumbai chased down a 158-run target comfortably against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday.

"As a team, we would want to win all the games and qualify for the playoffs. I want to do my part for the team by giving a good start and scoring with a good strike-rate. I want to score a half-century in every game and get my team off to a flier at the top of the innings," said Simmons. 

Lift Wankhede Ban on SRK, Ranjib Biswal to MCA

Responding to the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) letter which sought reasons for shifting the Indian Premier League's (IPL) June 1 final from Wankhede to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal has put forward several conditions which they expect MCA to fulfill if they want to host the big game. 

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IPL 7: Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell Power Kings XI Punjab to Six-Wicket Win vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

Kings XI Punjab once again showed their batting might as the table-toppers chased down another 200-plus run target to comfortably beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday. 

Chasing 206 for victory, the Punjab top-order pulled off another run feast -- their second 200-pus run chase in this IPL -- to canter to their target in 18.4 overs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Punjab batsmen struck from the word go, even after losing Virender Sehwag (4) on the second ball of the innings.

Wriddhiman Saha (54 off 26 balls) and Manan Vohra (47) managed a 91-run second-wicket partnership to provide a solid platform for the big chase.

Saha led the assault with the duo getting 20 runs from the sixth over and taking their side to 86 after the powerplays.

Saha though ran out of steam when Karn Sharma got him stumped but the leg-spinner's joy was short-lived as Glenn Maxwell came to the crease. The current orange-cap holder belted Karn for three sixes to continue with the momentum.

Vohra was unlucky to to be run out while backing off at the non-striker's end but Maxwell got a lucky reprieve when he survived a catch with Amit Mishra bowling a no ball.

In blistering form, Maxwell continued to hit fours and sixes as Punjab reached 150 in double quick time -- 156/3 in 12 overs.

Mishra finally got his revenge when Maxwell (43 off 22 balls) tried to come down the crease and hit the leggie over long-off only to find Dale Steyn's safe pair of hands.

George Bailey also got a lucky escape when David Warner's stunning catch was not called legitimate by the third umpire.

Punjab skipper probably wanted that bit of luck as the Aussie hit two sixes and two fours in the final Dale Steyn over to make the mountain climb look easy.

Punjab finally won the game with eight balls to spare with Bailey fittingly hitting the winning six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bailey (35 not out) and Miller 24 (not out) managed an unbeaten 52-run stand to disappoint the home crowd. Earlier wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 36-ball 79 as Hyderabad posted 205 for five in 20 overs.

Put into bat on a sunny afternoon, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Aaron Finch started on a cautious note but soon gained momentum at the end of the powerplays.

After a slow but steady start, Dhawan let it rip against Sandeep Sharma in the fifth over, hitting the medium-pacer for 26 runs with four fours and a six.

The left-handed batsman started with a boundary off a no ball and then continued with the straight hits for three more boundaries while the six got stuck towards the mid-wicket region as a hapless Sandeep could do little about the blitz.

Sandeep was taken off the attack as Punjab skipper George

Bailey juggled with his bowling options to check the run-flow.

Off-spinner Shivam Sharma provided the first breakthrough by cleaning up Finch for 20, which ended a 65-run opening stand.

The Aussie opener tried to cut a flattish round-the-wicket delivery from the Delhi youngster that rattled his middle stump.

While new man Naman found form, walloping Shivam for a six over long-on, Shikhar (45) was denied his fifty by Rishi Dhawan.

The southpaw got a sliding delivery on the leg-side, which he tried whip off his hips only to gift a catch to Shivam at short-fine leg.

Joined in by David Warner, wicketkeeper-batsman Naman continued to increase his boundary count by hitting sixes and fours in every over.

The hard-hitting Warner soon overtook Naman's strike-rate -- with fours and sixes galore -- as the duo stitched 81-runs for the third wicket.

Warner was run out after a quickfire 44 post a mix-up, but Naman continued in the same vein to post his fifty with a four.

A flurry of wickets in the end also failed to stop Naman from piling the agony against Punjab

In the end though Hyderabad lost their sixth game and are placed fifth in the table.

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IPL 7, SRH vs MI, Highlights: Simmons, Rayudu Fifties Script Mumbai Indians Win over Sunrisers Hyderabad

Mumbai Indians lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets. Catch all the highlights here. 

Ambati Rayudu, Man-of-the-Match : Hopefully we can win a few more from here. My head was in UAE, legs were in Hyderabad and my bat somewhere else. I had to get my technique back in order.

That's the end of this game. It's a double header tomorrow

Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians captain: We really bowled well to restrict SRH and to come and chase it like that was really superb. To bowl at Finch and Warner when they are set is not easy - I must congratulate all our bowlers for their efforts. We have always spoken about big partnerships. Simmons came and smacked it in the first few overs and Rayudu played his normal game.

Shikhar Dhawan, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain: Not used to losing too many games here at home. This is a good batting wicket and we should have got about 10 or 20 runs more. We are still in the competition - we need to win a few games to get back to the top four again.

Mumbai Indians won by seven wickets. Chasing 158 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai cruised home comfortably, thanks to Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu, who cracked 68 apiece. The two came together after the early loss of C Gautam, and added 130 for the second wicket as the Sunrisers werre subjected to a crushing loss at home.

23:06 IST: WICKET! Rayudu falls to Henriques for 68 off 46 balls as MI reach 141/3 of 16.5 overs - birthday boy Pollard joins Rohit in the middle.

22:59 IST: WICKET! Kumar removes Simmons for 68 but is it too late now for the Sunrisers? MI 132/2 after 16 overs.

22:57 IST: FOUR! Lucky runs for Simmons off the bowling off Kumar. That was sloppy work from Lokesh Rahul, not for the first time this evening.

22:47 IST: Rayudu reaches his 10th IPL half-century and second this season as MI continue to dominate the Sunrisers. It's their game to lose now.

22:42 IST: With seven overs to go, MI are 105/1 and need 53 to win. Strategic timeout

22:41 IST: Maiden IPL fifty for Lendl Simmons as MI reach 100/1 off 12.3 overs. SRH are losing grip quickly in the game.

22:33 IST: Irfan Pathan back in the attack with MI on 62/1 off 9 overs. SRH need to be careful here because Mumbai will certainly target him, the weakest link in the Hyderabad attack.

22:22 IST: This match could go to the wire. MI, chasing 158 are off to a good start and with their star-studded batsmen to come and SRH's top quality attack, we could be in for a treat. But it's time to introduce the rarely-seen Ayesha Mukherji, wife of Shikhar Dhawan, who is basking in the Hyderabad limelight.

22:21 IST: Spin at both ends now as Karn Sharma comes into the attack. 50 up for MI in the 8th over MI 51/1 off 8.

22:17 IST: Amit Mishra into the attack after the timeout. SIX! Rayudu hammers Mishra over the ropes and it's just as well for MI need to get a move on here. MI 48/2 off 7.

22:14 IST: End of the powerplay and MI are 38/1 with Simmons batting on 24 and Rayudu on 13.Strategic timeout

22:06 IST: Irfan Pathan into the attack with MI struggling on 16/1 off 4 overs. Simmons and Rayudu are the men in the middle and they will have to up the ante quickly. SIX! The ideal pace for Simmons as he smashes Irfan over the ropes.  FOUR! That was followed up by Simmons with a crunching boundary through the off-side.

21:54 IST: WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes off his second ball to remove C Gautam as MI slip to 2/1 off 1.2 overs. Rayudu joins Simmons in the middle.

21:51 IST: Good first over from Dale Steyn as Simmons and C Gautam both get one each as MI reach 2/1 off 1.2 overs.

SRH have posted 157/3 off their 20 overs, thanks to Aaron Finch (68) and David Warner (55 no) after electing to bat against Mumbai Indians. The hosts lost Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul cheaply but the two Aussies got together and helped the Sunrisers to a par score as stated by Dhawan and team mentor VVS Laxman. It was incredible power hitting in the last two overs as Warner launched into Lasith Malinga and hammered him for two sixes. MI will have to chase down a big total against a star-studded bowling attack on a pitch known to favour the home spinners.

21:25 IST: WICKET! Finch tries to smash Malinga out of the park but holds out to Pollard in the deep and Warner then clobbers Malinga for the second SIX of the over. What an eventful over that was. SRH 139/3 off 19 overs.

21:22 IST: SIX! Sensational shot from Warner as he lifts Malinga into the stands. Not many have been able to do that to the slinga from Sri Lanka but Warner is a different matter.

21:16 IST: Six runs from the Malinga over as SRH reach 118/2 after 17 overs. Finch is batting on 65 and Warner on 28.

21:08 IST: Warner and Finch are looking dangerous as SRH move to 103/2 off 15 overs. Both Aussie batsmen have been dealing in boundaries against MI.

21:00 IST: SRH are going well thanks to Finch's 50 and Warner but they need Dhawan to get back to form. Maybe coach Tom Moody is telling Dhawan's wife exactly that as they have a brief chat at Uppal.

20:45 IST: WICKET! Lokesh Rahul is needlessly run out for 10 as SRH slip t0 70/2 off 9.5 overs. David Warner joins Finch.

20:31 IST: FOUR! Another one for Finch as the SRH 50 comes up in the 8th over. This is a good start.

20:30 IST: FOUR! Finch gets another boundary, this time off Harbhajan Singh as SRH continue to plunder the runs despite losing Dhawan early.

20:28 IST: End of the powerplay and SRH are 43/1 after Ojha gives away 12 in his first over.

20:23 IST: WICKET! Malinga strikes in his first over; removes Dhawan for 11 off 11 balls. The SRH captain continues with his poor run. SRH 31/1 off 5 as Lokesh Rahul joins Finch in the middle. Ojha into the attack.

20:18 IST: Harbhajan gives away six in his first over, including a boundary to Dhawan. SRH 24/0 after 4.

20:16 IST: SRH 18/0 off 3 overs as Harbhajan comes in to bowl.

20:09 IST: FOUR! Finch smacks Anderson for another straight boundary after an excellent first over from Jasprit Bumrah. Anderson is clearly the target for SRH.

20:05 IST: Bumrah will bowl the second over for MI. An edge off Dhawan's bat falls short.

20:04 IST: FOUR! Finch drives Anderson straight down the ground to get things going for the Sunrisers. SRH 4/0 after the first over.

20:00 IST: Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Dhawan and Finch are in the middle. Corey Anderson will bowl the first over for MI.

19:35 IST: Here are the Playing XIs:

SRH: AJ Finch, S Dhawan (Captain), DA Warner, NV Ojha (WK), KL Rahul, MC Henriques, IK Pathan, KV Sharma, DW Steyn, A Mishra, B Kumar

MI: LMP Simmons, CM Gautam (WK), AT Rayudu, RG Sharma (Captain), KA Pollard, CJ Anderson, AP Tare, Harbhajan Singh, SL Malinga, JJ Bumrah, PP Ojha

19:33 IST: Sunrisers Hyderabad will bat against Mumbai Indians, who have dropped Praveen Kumar to make way for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. SRH are unchanged.

Preview: Mumbai Indians face uphill task against resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad

Languishing at the bottom of the table, defending champions Mumbai Indians face the uphill task of lifting themselves back in the reckoning when they take on a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL here on Monday.

Having won just two games out of eight they have played so far, the Mumbai side cannot afford to lose any more matches if it has to reach the semifinals.

However, it is easier said then done as the Sunrisers have an impressive track record on home ground after they made their entry into the IPL last year. 

Mumbai Indians can still make it to top four: Rayudu

Just two wins in eight games notwithstanding, defending champions Mumbai Indians' batsman Ambati Rayudu still believes the team has a chance to make the Indian Premier League playoffs if it raises its performance by a few notches.

"We have to win most of our away games as well as when we come back here. If we just play the way we are playing and just step it up a little bit, I think we should be okay," Rayudu said after his team's loss to Chennai Super Kings by four wickets here on Saturday.

Two-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings also snapped the defending champions' 10 match winning spree at the Wankhede Stadium and when asked what went wrong, Rayudu said, "If I analyse it, maybe a few decisions here and there might have been tough." 

Sunrisers Hyderabad Stay in Hunt for IPL Playoff Berth Courtesy Bhuvneshwar, Steyn

If Sunrisers Hyderabad have remained in fray for a berth in the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2014, it is largely because of their quick bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dale Steyn. On Thursday night, the pace duo once again defended a low score as Sunrisers defeated Rajasthan Royals by 32 runs after scoring a modest 134 at Motera's Sardar Patel Stadium. This was Sunrisers third win in seven matches that kept them at fifth place in the standings.

Coach Tom Moody thrilled with exceptional Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling

Even if rain had not made it easier for them, Sunrisers Hyderabad deserved to win Saturday's Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils simply because of their exceptional death bowling, asserted the visiting team coach Tom Moody.

In a rain-hit match, Hyderabad needed 43 off five overs in a revised target after restricting the hosts to 143 for seven. They easily got home with the loss of two wickets.

Asked if rain interruptions turned the tide in their favour, Moody said, "Even if it did, we deserved it. They way we bowled, particularly the way we executed the last six overs says it all. We reduced them to a total 20 to 30 runs less than what they could have got." 

Squads:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: S Dhawan (Captain), S Anirudha, A Ashish Reddy, RK Bhui, AJ Finch, MC Henriques, JO Holder, MC Juneja, B Kumar, CV Milind, A Mishra, NV Ojha (WK), P Parameswaran, Parvez Rasool, IK Pathan, AG Paunikar, KL Rahul, DJG Sammy, I Sharma, KV Sharma, DW Steyn, BRM Taylor, Y Venugopal Rao, DA Warner

Mumbai Indians: RG Sharma (Captain), CJ Anderson, JJ Bumrah, M de Lange, BR Dunk, CM Gautam (WK), S Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, JR Hazlewood, MEK Hussey, P Kumar, SL Malinga, SH Marathe, PP Ojha, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu (WK), K Santokie, LMP Simmons, P Suyal, AP Tare (WK), AV Wankhade

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