Because of the nature of the IPL, a team’s fortunes can shift drastically in short order. A winning run can turn into an amazing slide, and a team at the bottom can make the climb. The teams have a chance to rally because of the sheer number of games played. similar to the Delhi Capitals’ situation.
On the seventh of this month, things weren’t looking good for DC. They were having a difficult campaign, having only managed one victory in five games, when they were humiliated by the Mumbai Indians by 29 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. However, they have succeeded in making it better. The Capitals, who have won three of their past four games, including an exciting triumph against the Gujarat Titans, have surged to sixth place and will be quite confident going into their rematch with MI.
Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and Rishabh Pant are a few of the players that have contributed to DC’s comeback. While Axar has always kept things neat, Kuldeep Yadav has been DC’s top bowler. The pace department is where DC struggles, as players like Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, and Khaleel Ahmed have been leaking runs. To be fair, the surfaces haven’t done much to aid them. For DC, Rasikh Salam’s rise—he took three wickets against GT—is encouraging.
With three victories out of eight, including a nine-wicket loss to the top-ranked Rajasthan Royals, the five-time winners’ campaign has been patchy. Despite having a strong side on paper, they have simply not been able to hit the appropriate notes this season. Hardik Pandya, the club’s new captain, will be nervous because the team is now ranked eighth and time is of the essence.
The majority of MI’s runs have been scored by Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav; Nehal Wadhera also showed promise in the most recent game. Ishan Kishan’s low scores have been intermittent since his 34-ball 69 against RCB. With the exception of Gerald Coetzee with the ball, MI’s overseas combo hasn’t exactly made an impression, nor has Captain Pandya performed up to par thus far. Jasprit Bumrah has been MI’s main bowler, and he has been excellent as always, but MI needs more players to step up and help lead the charge.
When: April 27, Saturday, at 15:30 IST
Where: Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium
What to anticipate: This arena has hosted high-scoring games the last two times. The same should be anticipated from this game. Last year, in the last afternoon IPL encounter in Delhi, CSK defeated DC by a score of 223 after CSK had batted first and held the home team to 146. In both of the IPL 2024 games that have been played at this location thus far, teams have found success here when they bat first. As with the day before the DC-GT game, practice was briefly interrupted by an unplanned, intense downpour. However, a high of 38 degrees Celsius is predicted for the game time, which is expected to be bright and sunny.
Head-to-head: 15 DC – MI 19. The last three games between these two teams have been won by the Mumbai Indians.
Teams observe
Capitals of Delhi:
Injury/Availability: David Warner and Ishant Sharma are both currently healing from injuries, therefore they will not be available for the game. As a substitute for Mitchell Marsh, DC has called up Gulbadin Naib of Afghanistan, who is a cricket player. Naib has already joined the team and took part in Friday’s practice (April 26).
Strategies & Matchups: Khaleel Ahmed is a solid choice for DC because Rohit Sharma has been out of the game three times due to left-arm pacers in this IPL. Additionally, Rohit has been dismissed by Axar Patel in their most recent meeting with this side, as well as falling victim to left-arm spin twice this season. Suryakumar Yadav, who has struggled against left-arm finger spinners (86 off 83, 6 dismissals), might potentially be exploited with Axar.
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje/Jhye Richardson, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mukesh Kumar are the likely members of the playing eleven. [Rasikh Salam, Impact sub]
Indians in Mumbai:
Injury/Availability: At this time, MI is not concerned about any injuries.
Strategies & Matchups: Jasprit Bumrah outperforms Rishabh Pant in this matchup, dismissing him six times in 43 balls while only giving up 48 runs. Bumrah has also removed Axar Patel three times in forty-five balls and dismissed Prithvi Shaw twice in twenty-two balls.
The probable starting eleven are: Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya (c). [Nuwan Thushara is the Impact sub].
Were you aware?
- The Delhi Capitals have been the most successful team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with respect to spin. Their slower bowlers have taken the most wickets thus far, 21, at the best average of 22.23 and the second-best economy of 7.91. Mumbai Indians are the complete opposite, ranking bottom on the list with the least amount of spin (6 wickets), the highest average (61), and the third-worst economy (9.98).
Bowling a minimum of fifteen overs in this IPL, Axar Patel has the second-best economy of any player with a 7.06 rating. Leading the group with an economy of 6.37 is Jasprit Bumrah.
- The pacers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium have the best overall economy rate of any venue thus far in the IPL, at 10.85. This IPL, DC’s pacers had the best economy rate of any club at 10.91.
- Their spinners have performed much better in overs 16–20, with an economy rate of 7.63 in the 8 overs they have bowled. The DC pacemen have the lowest economy rate of 14.31. Despite Bumrah’s economical performance in this phase (7.20), MI’s pacers have an ER of 11.27 in the death.
What they expressed
We have scored over 400 runs in the last two games, demonstrating the strength of our hitting as well. Because this wicket is so fantastic, we have both made and conceded. Although the wicket is not the largest, it’s still a great one. That’s why it’s really difficult for bowlers—it’s not easy at all. The way the IPL is going, you can see that the bowlers are being carried all over. A healthy balance between the bat and the ball is one area that has to be examined in the future, according to Delhi Capitals director of cricket Sourav Ganguly.
“In terms of individual performance, I’m sure I can score goals faster than anyone else in the field. That doesn’t always happen, but if we have the chance, I’m confident we can score like that. If we have a pitch similar to the one they received the last time they played that game in Delhi, against Hyderabad, perhaps we can do so. Again, though, there’s so much skill on display that it’s difficult to predict what will happen. In T20 cricket, guys are raising the standard for what constitutes a decent score. As an international player, I have some experience playing in various settings and on various fields throughout the world. This IPL has undoubtedly seen some extremely big scores,” said Mumbai Indians hitter Tim David.
