The in form Delhi Daredevils will meet the Mumbai Indians at home in Feroz Shah Kotla for the first game of the double-header slated for Saturday. The Daredevils have been on a roll ever since they were decimated by KKR in their opening game.
Both Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians defeated RCB in their respective last matches. Also, the head to head stats shows that it's even stevens till now with both sides winning 6 games out of the 12 games played between them.
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Match date: April 23, 2016
Match Timings: 1600 IST
The track in Delhi should aid spin and the spinners from both sides would love to pick some key wickets in the middle. The toss has become a crucial factor in this tournament as all the games, barring one, have been won by the side batting second.
If Delhi Daredevils bat first
Predicted score: 160 plus
Quinton de Kock has been in sparkling form of late and his maiden IPL century in the last game bears testimony to that. If De Kock gets going, he will single-handedly take the game away from Mumbai.
Shreyas Iyer has been a major disappointment so far and it will be interesting to see whether he gets another opportunity tomorrow. Otherwise, Mayank Agarwal can replace him.
Karun Nair has been in great touch as well and he can be the perfect guy to play a solid role in the middle order. There is Sanju Samson and JP Duminy too who can play according to the need of the hour.
Carlos Brathwaite and Chris Morris can throw the kitchen sink in the final few overs if the need arises. Expect a total of more than 160 if Delhi manages to tick most of these boxes.
The bowlers for Delhi have been the real daredevils so far. The experienced Indian duo of Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami have been right on the money with Chris Morris and Brathwaite providing excellent support.
The spin attack of Pawan Negi and Amit Mishra has been tremendous in the middle overs with Mishra being the pick of the bowlers. What's exciting from Delhi's perspective is the balance they seem to possess with a perfect blend of youth and experience.
If Mumbai Indians bat first
Predicted score: 160 plus
One can expect an unchanged side from Mumbai Indians. They would love to carry the momentum after beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore at home a couple of nights back. Parthiv will continue to open with Rohit and these two would love to string in a massive partnership at the top.
Parthiv has been average at the top but Rohit Sharma’s confidence must be high after his innings against RCB. Twice Sharma has got going in this IPL and both times Mumbai have ended up winning.
Ambati Rayudu at no. 3 is an excellent move from the MI think-tank and along with him, Buttler would be eager to score the bulk of the runs in the middle. Pollard seems to have rediscovered his form and his job would be to provide the final push to Mumbai's total.
The explosive Pandya brothers can also give it a whack when push comes to shove.
Mumbai would have to bowl intelligently up front to De Kock. The Kiwi combo of Mitchell McCleneghan and Tim Southee need to have a plan in place for the explosive Delhi batsmen in the powerplays.
Jasprit Bumrah, who was impressive in the last game, would want to get his radar right while bowling to this talented batting unit. Krunal Pandya has exceeded expectations with both the bat and ball.
Against RCB, he picked up Kohli and De Villiers in one over and changed the course of the match single-handedly. Harbhajan Singh needs to get into the act soon and Mumbai Indians will have plenty to cheer about.
Probable Winners: Delhi Daredevils
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
