SMAT 2025: Mumbai wishes to sort out PowerPlay woes vs Haryana, Hyderabad keen on NRR improvement

It’s not for nothing that T20 is considered the most fickle format. With no clear favourites, every game throws up new challenges for the teams. Things are no different in the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, either.

With hardly any turnaround time in between matches, adaptability remains the key. The teams had to adjust to new conditions and battle the dew factor as all four fixtures on the opening day saw teams bowling first winning the game.

After a memorable campaign in the group stage, Mumbai suffered a shock defeat against Hyderabad due to a batting collapse. And ahead of a do-or-die clash against Haryana at the DY Patil Academy ground on Sunday, Shardul wants ‘a little bit of smartness’ from his batters and expects them to make the most of the Powerplay. Mumbai lost the plot in the Powerplay as it lost its top three wickets, and the defending champion needs to regroup and also look at bettering its Net Run Rate in order to stay in the hunt.

Haryana, on the other hand, comes on the back of a convincing victory against Rajasthan, and even though Nishant Sindhu remains a doubtful starter due to an injury, the team hopes to continue the winning run.

Bolstered by the presence of Mohammed Siraj, a confident Hyderabad will take on Rajasthan at the same venue, and Tanmay Agarwal, who played a key role in guiding the team home over Mumbai, told Sports stars that the team’s focus has been to improve the NRR. “In the previous editions, we missed out due to NRR, so this time, our focus is to better it as much as possible to stay in the hunt,” he said.

In the other fixtures of the day, Jharkhand, coming on the back of a record chase, will hope to keep the momentum against Madhya Pradesh, which registered a come-from-behind win in the previous game against Andhra despite Nitish Kumar Reddy’s hat-trick. Andhra will take on Punjab at the MCA Stadium.