Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are expected to face an uphill task when they take on below par defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League (IPL) tie at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Monday.
Hyderabad suffered a terrible start to their campaign with big losses against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.
The SRH bowling has been poor so far, suffering a hamerring at the hands of Bengalore's Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their first match and were blown away by Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir in their second game.
The batting has not been exceptional either. Shikhar Dhawan has carried his long run of poor form into the IPL which has put his opening partner David Warner under extra pressure.
In the middle-order, Moises Henriques and Deepak Hooda have struggled to get going. Apart from Warner, Eoin Morgan is the only other SRH batsman who is in good form, although Naman Ojha has shown some promise lower down the order.
Mumbai have also struggled to get going, losing two of their three matches. Their batting has been below par. Hardik Pandya has been a flop show in the number three slot while Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel have been promising but inconsistent.
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Much was expected of Kieron Pollard, but the West Indies all-rounder has not been promising with the bat.
New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan has been the stand out performer among the Mumbai bowlers. The left-arm pacer has been extremely incisive and economical so far and could be among the highest wicket-takers this season if he continues his current form.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has not been at his best recently, but has more than enough experience to bounce back. With more bowling options in Tim Southee, Corey Anderson and Pollard, the SRH batsmen can expect a difficult time on Monday.