(Cricket news) DC face MI in a do or die match for Rishabh Pant and co as they need to win in order to qualify for the playoffs. DC are a team that is yet to win an IPL title and they are going up against a team that has won the most IPL trophies over the last 14 seasons. A team whic is high on emotions will go up against a team that's simply going through the motions of the tournament.
MI will use the last match as a tool to see their pool of young players in the squad. MI have had a dismal season, but over the last few games they have been quite unpredictable. They put an end to CSK’s playoff hopes by handing them a thrashing and then they went on to beat Rajasthan Royals and table-toppers Gujarat Titans in back-to-back games. MI although they have a had abysmal season, they will take a look of positives in the tournament as the form of Tilak Verma and the power hitting from Tim David has been exceptionally good. In the bowling department, MI fans will be hoping that next season Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah form a lethal partnership as this season Bumrah didn’t receive much support from the other bowlers. Although over the last few matches, Daniel Sams has been acurate with his line and length. Bumrah vs Pant will be an interesting battle, Jasprit Bumrah has kept Rishabh Pant in check, conceding only 47 runs in 42 balls and dismissing the southpaw six times in the process.
For DC they need to win this match by hook or by crook, after an entire season of inconsistency by winning a game and then losing one, DC's head coach Ricky Ponting believes that his team has finally found the much needed momentum after breaking the trend with a victory in the previous game. Whether it's a facade of confidence or a genuine feeling of much needed confidence but one thing is certain that the team is finally performing as a collective unit. Marsh has been in good touch, scoring fifties in the last two games. He has the experience of playing under pressure,a recent example being his performances for Australia at the T20 World Cup last year and his experience will come in handy. But a lot rests on David Warner to score big if DC are to win this crucial encounter. In the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav will be the key against the right handers, especially the ones who look to take him on. Rohit Sharma over the last few years have struggled against Khaleel Ahmed and Axar Patel, both of whom have combined to dismiss him only thrice in 75 balls but conceded at less than run-a-ball.
Pitch and weather report: Even though dew hasn’t played a big part in the second innings, chasing teams have won three of the last four matches here. The pitch tends to offer a lot of pace and bounce in the first six overs but in the latter half it becomes much easier to bat. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees as no rain is expected in this humdinger of a battle.
Interesting facts:
- Delhi Capitals' last six opening partnerships have been 0, 5, 0, 16, 0 and 0. The five partnerships before when Warner and Shaw opened aggregated to 336 runs at an average of 67.20.
- David Warner has six fifties against Mumbai Indians in 19 innings, averaging 44.07 and striking at a rate of 138.87
- Jasprit Bumrah has taken 20 wickets in 18 matches against DC
- Kieron Pollard has averaged 14.40 and strike rate of 107.46 which his worst in a single IPL season.
- Daniel Sams needs one wicket to 100 wickets in T20s.
- Khaleel Ahmed needs two more wickets to reach 50 IPL wickets.
Also read: We have done well in patches but what is important is to keep doing well as a team: Dhoni
Probable XI for MI:
1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Ramandeep Singh, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Tim David, 7 Daniel Sams, 8 Sanjay Yadav, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Riley Meredith, 11 Murugan Ashwin/Mayank Markande
Probable XI for DC:
1 David Warner, 2 Sarfaraz Khan/Prithvi Shaw, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Khaleel Ahmed
