Mumbai Indians (MI) are on a winning streak these days with five consecutive wins on the trot. No doubt, they have got the winning momentum back and will eye to win big against Delhi Daredevils (DD) on Saturday at home ground Wankhede Stadium to earn crucial 2 points and retain their numero uno spot in the IPL points table.
IPL 2017: Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Delhi Daredevils (DD) – Preview
Saturday’s match is expected to be a fighting one. Delhi Daredevils have showed some spine at IPL 10 by winning two big matches against Pune and Punjab respectively with huge winning margins batting first. This time, their opponent is Mumbai Indians who are the champion of chasing. Head to head, DD and MI have 9-9 win-loss record.
Also Read: Four surprises from first fifteen days of IPL 10 #IPL
Interestingly, all five games that MI have won this season were through chase. Even after conceding around 198 runs at last match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) with sublime ton from Hashim Amla, Mumbai once again won the match batting second courtesy Jos Buttler’s blitzkrieg of 77 off 37 balls. Can MI win their third title? Well, only the time will unveil the same.
Team News for Mumbai Indians
Mumbai have a strong batting lineup that includes swashbuckling batsmen like Parthiv Patel, Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler up the order, and flamboyant Pandya brothers down the order. They don’t fear big targets and DD have to really score a huge total at least 190 plus if they really wish to pose some challenge to Mumbai Indians at their own backyard.
Nitish Rana of MI is leading the Orange cap race with 255 runs. Likewise, Mumbai’s bowling has been pretty consistent too. Bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, Bumrah and McClenaghan are well capable to defend any total on board with their cunning bowling spells and vast cricketing experience. However, Malinga’s recent performance has not been up to the mark so Rohit Sharma might opt for Tim Southee, the Kiwi fast bowler, at tomorrow’s clash.
Team News for Delhi Daredevils
Despite brilliant batting from Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant in the middle order in the last few IPL matches, their top order batsmen also need to fire. Batsmen like Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings and Karun Nair need to play fiery innings tomorrow to score a huge total on board. There will be some expectations from the pinch hitter Chris Morris too at lower middle order.
DD have a formidable bowling combination in captain Zaheer Khan, Chris Morris and Pat Cummins. In fact, Delhi have one of the most terrifying bowling units. Veteran leg spinner Amit Mishra has to bowl outstandingly well tomorrow to restrict the Mumbai’s free-flow run-riot at Wankhede stadium.
Predicted Playing XI (Both Teams)
Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma (Captain), Parthiv Patel (wicket keeper), Tim Southee, Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nitish Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Harbhajan Singh.
Delhi Daredevils (DD): Zaheer Khan (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Chris Morris, Sam Billings, Angelo Mathews and Pat Cummins.
Match Prediction: Delhi Daredevils (DD) will win.
Venue: Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Match will telecast live on Sony ESPN from 8PM onwards.
Tags: #IPL, DD, Delhi Daredevils, Indian Premier League, IPL 10, IPL 2017, MI, Mumbai Indians, VIVO IPL
