Hyderabad : Sunrisers Hyderabad have little time to recover from back-to-back losses as they face another formidable challenge in Mumbai Indians in the Pepsi Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The hosts would need to get their act together, especially in batting, if they harbour hopes of giving MI a tough competition and regain the impressive form they showed in the first half of the tournament.

MI have 12 points from nine matches, while Sunrisers have 10 from nine games.

Bowling has been a big asset for the Sunrisers, but batting has been the prime concern. In their last match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, Darren Sammy batted with the lower order to pull the team out of deep trouble. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kumar Sangakkara, G Hanuma Vihari, Karan Sharma and Thisara Perera were dismissed early and the team was six wickets down for 29.

Similar was the tale against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai, where barring Dhawan none of the batsmen contributed to the total.

The return of Dhawan, India’s latest batting sensation, and inclusion of West Indies captain Darren Sammy has reinforced the Sunrisers batting. Captain Kumar Sangakkara’s poor form however continues to be a cause of worry.

Their batsmen will not have it easy against MI’s strong bowling attack comprising Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Dhawal Kulkarni and Mitchell Johnson.

The team can take pride in the bowling as Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, leg-spinner Amit Mishra, and Thisara Perera have won matches.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are on a roll with matchwinners in their ranks in Rohit Sharma Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Smith and Pollard, who can be a nightmare for any bowler. Their collective might would make for an extremely tough challenge for the Sunrisers.

The Sunrisers would bank on the proverbial home advantage to upstage the giants.

“We have not scored the runs, the way we would have liked. We are aware of that. We are doing everything to rectify that. At the end of the day it comes down to individual responsibility,” said Sunrisers coach Tom Moody said.

He said every match from here on would be crucial for the team. “We are positioned at middle of the table. We recognise that every game from here on is an important one,” Moody said.

Moody said they would not look at the big names in the rival side. “We are making sure we prepare well. We have seen in the past that teams like Mumbai are not unbeatable.”