SRH vs MI IPL 2024: Will Mumbai Indians Unleash Their 'New Malinga' Nuwan Thushara Versus Sunrisers Hyderabad?

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Mumbai Indians (MI) will look for swift turnaround when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 17 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday (March 27).

MI led by new skipper Hardik Pandya lost momentum in the closing stages of the run chase against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2024 opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where they suffered a 6-run loss on Sunday (March 24).

MI failed to chase down 169 after Jasprit Bumrah (3 for 14) and Gerald Coetzee (2 for 27) had helped restrict the Titans to 168 in their allotted 20 overs. Apart from Bumrah and Coetzee, the rest of the bowling unit, including skipper Pandya, conceded plenty.

With an injury ruling out one of their 2024 signings Dilshan Madushanka of Sri Lanka, MI brought in England's Luke Wood as a like-for-like replacement for the left-arm pacer. But the English bowler just bowled 2 overs and gave away 25 runs.

That sparked a debate amongst cricket fans, as MI had a pretty good weapon in the form of another 2024 auction buy from Sri Lanka, but didn't select him in the playing 11 for the opener.

Post that opening match result, MI fans will hope to see their 'new Lasith Malinga' - Nuwan Thushara make his debut for the side soon. But will he make the much-ancticipated bow tonight?

Who is Nuwan Thushara?

Nuwan Thushara is a 29-year-old pacer with a slingy action similar to Sri Lanka and Mumbai Indians great Malinga. He was bought by the joint record five-time champions MI after intense bidding war with Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the IPL 2024 auction for a whopping Rs 4.2 crore.

The right-arm pacer has played 87 T20 matches, taking 120 wickets at an average of 18.03 and a best of 5 for 13. He has made a name for himself playing in the shorter formats of T20 and T10 leagues across the world.

Thushara made his international debut in 2022 and has claimed 11 wickets in his 8 T20I appearances with five of them coming only last month when he claimed a hattrick against Bangladesh.

The hattrick also saw him end with figures of 5 for 20, and also got the MI fans rightly excited as the pacer was already part of their side for the IPL 2024 season. However, the fans were left disappointed after the Sri Lankan quick was not picked for the opener.

Will Mumbai Indians finally unleash their 'new Malinga' against Sunrisers Hyderabad?

There is a good chance that the 29-year-old gets a look in against SRH today in place of Wood if MI think-tank feel the variation of a left-arm pacer is not required. Thushara has been training and is available for selection.

MI fans will be keen to see how Bumrah and Thushara bowl in tandem. Bumrah learnt a lot bowling alongside Malinga in his early years. Now, with Malinga at the helm as the bowling coach, the partnership will instill fear among the opposition batters.

But Thushara is not that accurate as Bumrah or Malinga, who bowled those toe-crunching yorkers consistently. Malinga and Bumrah are the highest pace-bowling wicket-takers for MI. The fans will hope Thushara also follows path of the legends.