Mumbai, Delhi meet in heavyweight clash
Heavyweights Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) will look to outsmart each other when they clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 here on Tuesday.
While MI comes into the contest on the back of victories against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here, DC heads into the match following a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mumbai. Up against a resurgent Delhi side, Mumbai will have to address its middle-order woes if it is to bag three wins on the bounce.
MI captain Rohit Sharma has got starts and would be keen to come up with a big score. His opening partner Quinton de Kock would look to do the same. In the middle-order, Mumbai has the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard as well as the Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal.
However, they are yet to click as a unit and would be aiming to deliver as a group for the first time in IPL 2021. The MI bowlers, led by pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, were splendid in the last two games while successfully defending 150 and 152.
While Bumrah and Trent Boult have bagged three and six wickets respectively, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has scalped as many as seven. MI used Kiwi fast bowler Adam Milne in the previous game but could be tempted to bring in Jayant Yadav or Piyush
Chawla, considering the slow nature of the Chepauk surface.
Mumbai’s opponent Delhi got back on track with a victory over Punjab. The biggest positive for DC has been the form of opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has amassed 186 runs. Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw have made good use of the powerplay overs, but the latter would hope to convert starts into match-winning totals.
Delhi opted for Steve Smith in the previous game, but could bring back Ajinkya Rahane to join skipper Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis in the middle-order. DC’s pace attack is headed by Kagiso Rabada and Chris Woakes, with Anrich Nortje waiting on the sidelines to make his first appearance of the season.
Offie Ravichandran Ashwin could be joined by leggie Amit Mishra on a spin-friendly track. With the finalists from last season going head to head, a quality match awaits fans.