Confirmed Playing 11
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Martin Guptill, Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler(w), Krunal Pandya, Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Vinay Kumar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah
Delhi Daredevils (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Jean-Paul Duminy, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan(c), Imran Tahir
Mumbai Indians take on the Delhi Daredevils at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, Vishakapatnam with their hopes of making the play-offs in jeopardy. Mumbai have 12 points from 12 games will look to take maximum points from their remaining two games to stay in the hunt. Delhi too are on 12 points but have played two games less and are fourth in the table owing to their better run-rate.
Delhi travel to Vishakapatnam after their win over the table toppers Sunrisers and will look to continue with their winning habit. Mumbai, on the other hand were completely outplayed by the Kings XI and they will look to bounce back from that defeat.
Delhi and Mumbai played each other in Match 17 of the IPL at the Feroz Shah Kotla where Delhi put up 164 on the board with help from Sanju Samson and JP Duminy who were brilliant on the day. Rohit Sharma led the chase for Mumbai scoring 65 runs and some hard hitting from Krunal Pandya saw Mumbai get close.
However, but some brilliant spin bowling from Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra made sure they fell 10 runs short. Mumbai will look to avenge that loss in Vishakapatnam, which has been made their makeshift home owing to the drought in Maharastra.
Let’s check out how these two heavyweights could possibly line up against each other
Mumbai Indians
Batsmen: Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma’s opening partner for the Mumbai Indians had looked out of sorts and was replaced by Unmukt Chand against the Kings XI. Chand, however, was also unsuccessful and didn’t trouble the scorers. The young lad might still get another chance against Delhi.
Ambati Rayudu has been a regular feature in the Mumbai side and has been given the responsibility of batting at number 3 and is likely to continue with his role. Nitish Rana, replaced Hardik Pandya in the playing eleven and the boy who hails from Delhi could start against the Daredevils. Jos Butler is likely to come in at number 5 and the wicket-keeper batsman of the Three Lions has impressed when he has had the opportunity.
All-Rounders: Kieron Pollard, the big man from the Caribbean is an absolute is the one who provides the ammunition at the tail end of Mumbai’s batting and is also pretty good with the ball. The Trinidadian can be used as a 6th bowler by Rohit Sharma.
Krunal Pandya has outshone his brother this season and the southpaw is a hard-hitter and Mumbai has used him as a pinch-hitter this season. His left arm spin has proved to be useful to the Mumbai Indians going at an economy of 7.14.
Bowlers: The Kiwi pair of Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan have been a hit for Mumbai this season and their performances have more than made up for the absence of Lasith Malinga. McClengahan is leading the IPL charts with 17 wickets and is the owner of the Purple Cap.
Both Bumrah and Southee have complemented McClenaghan’s efforts with the ball and have picked up 20 wickets between themselves. Harbhajan Singh has become almost synonymous with the Mumbai Indians and has been a part of the franchise for 9 seasons and is an asset with his experience.
Probable Playing 11: Rohit Sharma (C), Unmukt Chand, Ambati Rayudu, Nitish Rana, Jos Butler (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah
Delhi Daredevils
Batsmen: Delhi have kept on experimenting with their opening pair all season and they just can’t seem to get it right. Quinton de Kock has been constant with the role as an opener with his partners changing from game to game. Mayank Agarwal had been asked to share the responsibility of opening the batting against the Sunrisers and after two failed attempts, Shreyas Iyer might make it to the playing 11 at Agarwal’s expense.
Sanju Samson has been in great touch this season and the wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala is set to resume his duties at number 3. Karun Nair too has enthralled us with a few good innings under his belt and is set to walk in at number 4.
Zaheer Khan is not 100% fit and the responsibility of the captaincy will be on Duminy if he doesn’t start and the Delhi fans will hope for another big inning from their new captain if need be. Rishabh Pant, another promising young man in the Delhi side, played a brilliant knock against the Sunrisers and he will provide the hitting power in the Daredevils middle order.
All-Rounders: Carlos Brathwaite missed out against the Sunrisers and is also likely to sit out against the Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, Chris Morris is certain to be a part of the playing eleven. The South African all-rounder has picked 9 wickets this season and when he has had the chance with the bat, he has been impressive.
Bowlers: Nathan Coulter-Nile started in Hyderabad as Zaheer Khan missed out due to fitness issues and is likely to start against Mumbai as well. Mohammed Shami hasn’t been in the best of form as he has struggled to pick up wickets and has also been expensive. However, the Delhi think is more than likely to keep faith in him to partner Coulter-Nile with the new ball.
Amit Mishra has again been very successful with his leg-spinners this season picking up 12 wickets and has been the pick of the bowlers for Delhi. Jayant Yadav, who started against the Sunrisers is likely to partner Mishra and the Delhi camp will hope the leg and off spin combination will create havoc in the Mumbai batting line up.
Probable Playing 11: Quinton de Kock (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, JP Duminy (C), Rishabh Pant, Chris Morris, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav.
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