Mumbai Indians (MI) find themselves in perhaps the most known territory, they have lost their opening match, there are questions around their team combinations and they now travel to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to take on a side which is looking solid and is at home.

Kane Williamson gave enough glimpse of his captaincy prowess in the first match and his team responded beautifully to the new skipper at the helm of affairs. Having said that, they will know that they need to be on top of their games to brush aside the Mumbai Indians.

Here we take a look at the key player battles which might shape the way of the match.

Also read: IPL 2018: Match 7 (SRH vs MI) – Probable XI Fantasy

Jasprit Bumrah vs Shikhar Dhawan

Two marquee Indian players, two gun players for their respective teams, Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan will be like lynchpins for their respective sides.

While Dhawan has been brilliant over the past 12 months for India and carried his form into the first match for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the best white-ball bowler going around at the moment.

Both players know each other quite well and who comes out on top at the end of the day will be a close reflection of the match result.

Mustafizur Rahman vs Kane Williamson

In the absence of David Warner, Kane Williamson stepped up, both as a leader and as a player in the first game. However, his real test will begin now when teams will know what to expect from him.

Also, Williamson, the batsman will be up against Mustafizur Rahman, and after not having an entirely fruitful first match, the Bangladeshi bowler will be keen to iron out the flaws and get the ball rolling from the get-go.

His encounter with SRH’s skipper might well be an intriguing watch, one that might drop the hammer on the match.

Mayank Markande vs Manish Pandey

The young leg-spinner has already shot to prominence after a brilliant debut in the first match against the Chennai Super Kings. However, despite taking three wickets, he had to be content with the second spot.

However, there is so much to like about this young man, he has good control and brilliant variations and might well be the X-factor for Mumbai Indians this season.

He will face a good test in the form of Manish Pandey and the young man might well be put under the pump by an experienced SRH top order and how he fares will give us even better insight into the young man.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Evin Lewis

Evin Lewis did not have a very good start to his IPL career and he will be keen to get the house in order. However, he will be up against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the master with the new ball and he has to keep an eye on the swinging ball in the powerplays.

Bhuvneshwar will get the ball to hoop around and how Lewis responds to it will help Mumbai’s batting achieve a good score, and it will not be easy against the moving ball, but when has cricket ever been easy?

Rashid Khan vs Rohit Sharma

For all his panache and match-winning abilities, Rohit Sharma seems to struggle against wrist spinners and in Rashid Khan, he will be up against one the best in the recent time.

Also read: IPL 2018: Match 7 (SRH vs MI) – Stats Preview

Rashid got the better of Rohit last year with a brilliant googly and the Mumbai Indians skipper has to be vigilant against the Afghan even if it means to play him out with respect.

More than skills, this battle might well boil down to egos and nerves and whoever does a better job will emerge as the winner.