3 things DC need to do right to beat MI in IPL 2025 match in Mumbai ft. Powerplay batting

Delhi Capitals (DC) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in match number 63 of IPL 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 21. The game is an extremely crucial one with regard to qualification for the playoffs. MI are in fourth place, with 14 points from 12 matches. DC, on the other hand, are in fifth position, with 13 points from 12 matches.

A win for Mumbai on Wednesday will see them join Gujarat Titans (GT), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the playoffs. Such a result would knockout Delhi as they can only reach a maximum of 15 points even if they beat PBKS in their last league match.

If DC win both their remaining league games, they will progress to the playoffs ahead of MI. In such a scenario, Delhi will finish the league stage with 17 points, while Mumbai would end on 16 even if they beat Punjab in their last game. Axar Patel and co., however, have lost three of their last four matches, while one game produced no result due to rain.

When Mumbai and Delhi clashed in the first half of IPL 2025, MI beat DC by 12 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, we analyze three things Delhi need to do to get the better of Mumbai.

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#1 DC need to get off to a strong start in the powerplay

Delhi have struggled in the last few matches of IPL 2025 due to their inability to get off to a strong start in the powerplay. One of the reasons behind the same has been that the franchise haven't had a stable opening pair.

In their previous match against Gujarat at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, they crawled to 28-1 after five overs. Faf du Plessis failed to get going and was dismissed for five off 10 balls. KL Rahul (112* off 65) was brilliant, but DC still ended up posting a below par score of 199-3 owing to the slow start.

Delhi were also lucky to get away with one point in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) that eventually produced no result due to rain. They slipped to 26-4 by the sixth over and subsequently to 62-6. DC did recover to some extent, but were eventually held to 133-7. Delhi need to find a way to get off to a solid start against Mumbai in the must-win game on Wednesday.

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#2 Delhi bowlers cannot allow MI openers to get off to a flyer

Not just with the bat, Delhi need to get off to a strong start with the ball as well. In the absence of Mitchell Starc, they struggled against GT as Sai Sudharsan (108* off 61) and Shubman Gill (93* off 53) toyed with the bowling. Gujarat raced away to 59-0 at the end of the powerplay and kept on attacking even after that as Delhi's bowlers had no answers to the onslaught.

T Natarajan proved very expensive against GT and was hammered for 49 runs in his three overs. Dushmantha Chameera (0-22 from two overs) also failed to make an impact. And, while Mustafizur Rahman was comparatively economical, he too failed to pick up a wicket.

Delhi cannot afford such a lackadaisical bowling effort from their pacers. A lot more will be expected of Natarajan, who was purchased at the auction for ₹10.75 crore. And yes, Starc's loss is a big one, but DC need to find a way to fix the gap. Another poor bowling effort in the powerplay could put paid to their hopes of qualifying for the IPL 2025 playoffs.

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#3 DC spinners to get back among the wickets

While Delhi's pacers need to pull up their socks, the spin bowling department also needs to do much more in terms of picking up wickets. Skipper Axar Patel has claimed only five wickets in 11 innings, while his economy rate (8.47) too has been on the higher side. The left-arm spinner needs to lead from the front against MI.

Seasoned left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has claimed 12 wickets at an average of 25 and an economy rate of 6.97. Impressive numbers, but the last time he picked up a wicket in IPL 2025 was in the match against GT in Ahmedabad on April 19. All-rounder Vipraj Nigam has had his moments with the ball, but his nine scalps have come at an economy rate of 9.45.