Venue: ACA-VDCA Stadium, Vishakapatnam | Date & Time: 15 May at 1830 hr (GST)
BIG PICTURE
For the third time in as many seasons, Mumbai find themselves in a familiar spot of bother: they have to win two of their remaining two matches to ensure advancement; one win will mean that their qualification will not be in their control.
In the last two seasons, they found ways to thrive under these pressure situations, and qualified for the play-offs on both occasions. They need to win this match and then do the same against the Gujarat Lions.
And now enter Delhi Daredevils. For the first time in the last three seasons, the Daredevils have a realistic chance of advancing. After their shambolic seasons in 2014 and 2015, Delhi have bounced back as contenders under the mentorship of Rahul Dravid. They shocked many at the auction by shelling out 8.5 crores for a relatively inexperienced Pawan Negi and 7 crores for Chris Morris.
But Morris has been stunning for them, causing the underperforming Pawan Negi to be benched. This pragmatic, meritocratic approach has been a defining feature of the new Daredevils.
At the auction, it was clear that the Daredevils were banking a lot on young batting talents to come good for the team: Quinton de Kock, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson, Carlos Brathwaite, Rishabh Pant, Negi, Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal. The first five on that list that succeeded in varying capacities, and the results reflect that. Their bowling has set them apart from other teams, though.
South African Morris has been phenomenal at the death and Zaheer Khan has surprised many by bringing back his canny old self. Shami and Mishra have been extremely reliable as well.
Mumbai’s last match was a horror story. The KXIP bowlers battered the Blues into submission on a slow Vishakhapatnam pitch. Rohit Sharma misread the pitch at the toss while their batsmen, Kieron Pollard aside, failed to read the pace of the pitch. Their batting lacked the intent to score quickly and nous to accumulate risk-free runs (having played 63 dot balls).
The team will feel slightly unlucky, as they have to play their “home” games on pitches hardly optimized to their batting’s strength – brutal, through-the-line hitting. This will be Mumbai’s last match at this venue before they head to Kanpur to play the Lions, and the former will want to bid adieu to this ground by winning this match.
WATCH OUT FOR
Krunal Pandya has been Mumbai’s X-factor
Krunal Pandya: Krunal has been the find of the season for Mumbai this year. He’s edged his younger brother out of the squad with his enterprising batting and accurate bowling. Krunal is striking at 150+ this season. He looks to be a vital cog of the explosive middle consisting of Jos Buttler, Pollard and Rana. Krunal’s services will again impact the match massively against the Daredevils, who field multiple right-handed batsmen.
KEY BATTLES
Mohammad Shami and Zaheer Khan vs Rohit Sharma: The wily old fox of Indian bowling vs the largest proprietor of “lazy elegance” (whatever that means) in the world. By no means are the Mumbai Indians too reliant on Sharma’s batting to come good but it’s difficult to ignore the positive correlation between Rohit’s success as a batsman and the team’s fortunes. Zaheer has been excellent in the powerplays and will look to send Rohit back to pavilion as soon as possible. If this happens, Mumbai’s chances will lower significantly – the numbers certainly reflect this.
Chris Morris vs Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler: The last time Delhi and Mumbai battled, Mumbai were comfortably cruising to a win, until Morris made an intervention. He was bowled with pinpoint and accurate yorkers, hardly giving batsmen anything to get under. A large chunk of Mumbai’s strategy revolves around middle-order explosiveness. Morris is a formidable opponent who is certainly capable of repeating his death-bowling heroics.
EXPECTED XIs
Unmukt Chand was all at sea in the match against Punjab, and might be replaced back by either Parthiv Patel or Martin Guptil. Mumbai’s opening combination has been a real cause of worry and puts the middle-order under pressure in most matches.
In last two years, the solidity provided by Lendl Simmons at the top allowed Mumbai to recover their innings from much tougher places. The match against KXIP might force them to rethink their team composition.
Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel / Martin Guptil, Ambati Rayudu, Nitish Rana, Jos Buttler (wk), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McCelnaghan, Tim Southee / Nathu Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Though Delhi Daredevils have been at the end of many jokes for regularly changing their playing XI, they have been methodical with these changes. They change their personnel as conditions and opposition change. With Zaheer expected to return, a number of alternatives should be expected.
It’s probable that Imran Tahir will be included to counter the likes of Pollard and Buttler. Nathan Coulter-Nile, despite his good efforts in the previous match, will most likely make way for Tahir. JP Duminy, too, will probably be dropped in favor of more explosive options.
Quinton de Kock (wk), Mayank Aggarwal, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Sam Billings / Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Shami
STRAIGHT FROM TWITTER
In the city of #Surf and spicy cuisine #Vizag ! The @DelhiDaredevils to face @mipaltan and @RPSupergiants in this lovely city @IPL
— Hemant Dua (@inspiranti) May 13, 2016
