IPL 2019, SRH vs MI: 2 players for whom this is a must-perform match

The 19th match of IPL 2019 will be played on April 6 at 8 PM IST, between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

SRH have won three matches and lost one while MI have won two matches and lost two. Currently, SRH are placed at the top of the points table, while MI are languishing at 6th.

The SRH vs MI rivalry has seen 12 matches being played in the IPL so far. SRH have won 7 of those games, and MI have managed to win the remaining 5.

The Hyderabad-based franchise have won the IPL title once, while MI are three-time champions.

When these two teams met each other last season, SRH managed to win both the matches. SRH were the last year's runners-up while MI finished in an uncharacteristically low 5th position.

On that note, let’s take a look at one player from either team for whom this match is critical.

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#1 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul had a good outing in IPL 2018 for SRH with 21 wickets from 17 matches. He was very valuable in 2017 too, as he picked 16 wickets from 10 matches.

This season however, he has picked only three wickets from the four matches so far. He has not done anything wrong, but is considered to be the weakest link in the SRH bowling line-up.

With Khaleel Ahmed and Basil Thampi warming the bench, SRH aren't short of bowling options. They might give Kaul a couple more chances, but would want him to start picking wickets more regularly.

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#2 Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard has been a part of MI since 2010. He has performed well in most editions of the IPL either with bat or ball, but last year was a failure as he scored only 133 runs from 9 matches.

Overall, he has scored 2526 IPL runs from 136 matches and has picked 56 wickets.

This season Pollard has scored just 50 runs from the four matches he has played. Moreover, he isn't taking up bowling responsibilities any more, and is playing as a pure batsman.

With Ishan Kishan and Evin Lewis sitting on the sidelines, MI have plenty of solid options to try out. The management would expect the veteran to start finding runs in the upcoming matches, especially considering he looked to be regaining some of his rhythm in MI's last match, against CSK.