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DELHI CAPITALS vs MUMBAI INDIANS - PREVIEW - MATCH 15
*BUILD UP:*
Two underwhelming teams and two captains under pressure with the need to step-up and make it count are all set to clash tonight as cricket returns to the national capital of India, New Delhi. After the highs of the WPL where these two outfits featured in the final, the Men’s IPL has served them with new challenges and a chance tonight to punch above their weight.
*DELHI’S MAIN CONCERN:*
The batting order of the Capitals is just not clicking, forcing Warner to play the role of an anchor and in the process, registering two slow half centuries going in vain. His partner, Prithvi Shaw who always enters the fray with a big reputation is also failing to deliver the goods, with three failures on his back.
The heavily poised middle order of DC, whose role was specifically designated to counter the spinners and keep the strike rotation on hasn’t lived upto the task, resulting in a collective batting performance with scores of 143, 162 and 142.
*PROBABLE XI:*
David Warner(c), Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Rovman Powell, Abhishek Porel/Sarfaraz Khan(wk), Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar/Chetan Sakariya
We could see the return of Sakariya, a gritty left arm medium pacer for DC if Khaleel is ruled out due to a fitness burst.
Though Abhishek Porel has shown the dedication and intent, it wouldn’t be a bad option to go back to Sarfaraz who may just fire against an underwhelming bowling unit of MI taking toll of the boundary dimensions and the pitch, with his 360 degrees batting.
*MUMBAI’S MAIN CONCERNS:*
The retained stars of this champion side are under enormous pressure heading into this game, and rightly so they will have to answer it with their bats. To begin with, Captain Rohit has to set the ball rolling. He has had a way too long scarcity for runs in the IPL and failing again tonight, should be a final nail in the coffin.
Surya is probably going through the worst of periods of his career, ever since he was castled in Nagpur off Lyon, he has had a forgettable cricketing journey registering three back to back ducks and following that up with scores of 15(15) and 1(2) vs RCB and CSK respectively. Similarly, if Kishan has to prove his mettle as a versatile player, he has to shed off the rustiness which he is going through and commit to the bang-bang approach.
*BOWLING IN DISARRAY-*
MI, who boasted of a bowling unit full of strength have been reduced to the minority. The absence of their spearhead in action, Bumrah is hurting them bigtime coupled with the discomfort that Archer has been facing, forcing him to not bring out his best. To add to that, the inexperience of the other bowlers is like salt on wound, making matters worse for the Rohit led side.
*PROBABLE XI:*
Rohit Sharma(c), Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan(wk), Tilak Verma,Suryakumar Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendroff, Sandeep Warrier/Arjun Tendulkar
I feel MI should look to utilise Green’s power hitting abilities right inside the powerplay, demoting a struggling Kishan and starting strong upfront.
Using SKY as a no5 may as well prove to be pivotal for his confidence who can simply come and whack it around on this relatively smaller ground accessing different parts of the ground.
With concerns over Archer’s fitness, if he misses out Sandeep Warrier could be drafted in as the quick bowler. If MI are to bring in another left arm seamer to partner Jason, they may as well try the raw Arjun Tendulkar who has been in the dugout for way too long now.
*MY PREDICTONS:*
*FOR DC:*
Highest run getter- David Warner/Rilee Rossouw
Highest wicket taker- Anrich Nortje/Kuldeep Yadav
*FOR MI:*
Highest run getter- Cameron Green/Suryakumar Yadav
Highest wicket taker- Piyush Chawla/Jason Behrendroff
*MY PREDICTION FOR THIS GAME:*
Mumbai Indians to win and register their first two points on the board, with DC slipping to their fourth loss on the trot.