Beleaguered Delhi Daredevils look to end Mumbai jinx
Be it the Wankhede, DY Patil or Brabourne Stadium, DD have managed just one win in seven matches
The rivalry between Delhi and Mumbai is one of the fiercest in Ranji Trophy. While Mumbai are the undisputed kings with 41 titles, Delhi have often given them a run for their money with seven titles to their credit.
The rivalry has spilled over to the Indian Premier League (IPL) where Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils are the only teams to have a head-to-head contest that is even.
In 18 matches, both teams have won and lost an equal number of matches. Mumbai will have a chance to go one-up on Delhi when they clash at the Wankhede here on Saturday. The Daredevils’ priority would be to break their Mumbai jinx. They have rarely managed to find success whenever they have squared up against Mumbai in the financial capital of India.
In seven IPL clashes, Mumbai Indians have emerged triumphant on six occasions in matches played at Wankhede, and DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium (MI’s adopted homes when Wankhede was being renovated for the 2011 World Cup).
The only time Daredevils found everything going for them was during the 2012 clash at Wankhede where the Harbhajan Singh-led side was bowled out for 92 to lose by seven wickets.
“In terms of not winning in Mumbai, if you look at the last 5-6 games, Mumbai have been on a roll, home or away. It’s a tough ask but we have the firepower to do it. It’s just that we need to click,” said Daredevils’ all-rounder and Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews on the eve of the clash.
MASTER CHASERS
The toss will be crucial as both teams will look to chase. Teams chasing have won 19 times out of 21 here.
Mumbai have become master chasers, having won all their five matches of IPL10. It was evident in the way Mumbai played their last match on Thursday in Indore where Rohit Sharma & Co made mockery of the 199-run target set by Kings XI Punjab, winning easily (with eight wickets and 27 balls to spare).
Mumbai seem to be making the most of their best-ever start to their campaign.
They have won their last five matches after being beaten in their opening clash against RPS.
MIDDLE-ORDER WOES
One of the Daredevils’ major concerns is batting in the middle overs (7 to 15), where they are averaging 7.33 — the worst performance by any team this IPL. In this phase, Delhi have lost 16 wickets, the most by any side. This is where the momentum is lost and could cost them dear.
DD will have to decide whether to promote hard-hitting Chris Morris, after Angelo Mathews and Shreyas Iyer failed to land the blows in the 15-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Morris was zero not out without getting to face a delivery.