The clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi would be about a well-settled side with an in-place winning combination taking on the newlyfound mavericks of the IPL, fresh with young blood.
While Mumbai comfortably sit atop the points table and are almost certain to make the playoffs, Delhi would have to play the way they have been playing for the past two games and win as many of their remaining games as possible to have a feasible chance at any of the top four slots.
The Rishab Pant-Sanju Samson blitzkrieg has got the whole world talking, and the way Delhi have reincarnated themselves, especially since the 67 all out against Kings XI Punjab, has been spectacular. However, it remains to be seen as to whether they can maintain consistency in this regard.
It would not be that easy though, as Mumbai have one of the better bowling attacks amongst all teams in the tournament, and their death-overs specialists, Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah, aren’t going to make Delhi’s task any easy.
Hence, the young brigade of Pant, Samson, Shreyas Iyer and their captain, Karun Nair, would have to throw caution to the wind and mix daredevilry with patience while taking on arguably the best side in the league so far.
Delhi have a good bowling attack too as the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Mohammad Shami and Patrick Cummins have been blowing fire and have been hurrying the batsmen with their pace. Add Shahbaz Nadeem and Amit Mishra to the mix, and you’ll find that the bowling attack offers a lot of promise. It is just that they will have to deliver on consistency at some point of time.
For Mumbai, Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel hold the key at the top of the order. Even a decent start given by these two would lay the platform for Nitish Rana – who has been a revelation for them since the beginning of the season – and Rohit Sharma, who has reinvented himself at No. 4, to plan out the innings.
Big hitters like Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya are more than capable of demolishing any bowling attack and getting quick runs at the death. The batting lineup, thus, looks to be settled.
Prediction
Mumbai have a 6-1 win-loss record while chasing targets, and hence, it is needless to say that they would love to field first if they win the toss. Besides, given the way Delhi humbled the Gujarat Lions in the previous game held at the venue, and the small size of the ground, the big-hitters would back themselves to hunt down anything.
Delhi, on the other hand, have a 2-3 win-loss ratio while chasing. While defending targets also they have won two and lost three out of the five games. Hence, Delhi would not bother much, even if they fail to win the toss and would go out all guns blazing every which way.
They don’t have a choice eiither, and therefore, while they have won their last two games chasing targets in excess of 180 – the last match was a 200+ chase – they must be prepared to bat first and bat big as well, in case Mumbai win the toss and put them in.
The Daredevils do have all the bases covered, and in Rabada and Shami have two good death bowlers. The injury to Zaheer Khan has come as a bog blow, but the youngsters have recovered well from it, it seems.
It is a must-win game for Delhi and come what may, they would look to put every inch of themselves into it.
If Delhi bat first: Predicted Score – 180; Predicted Winners – Mumbai
If Mumbai bat first: Predicted Score – 185; Predicted Winners – Delhi
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