Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, 02 October 2021, 3:30 PM IST
Delhi Capitals have won the toss and decide to bowl first
In the UAE phase of IPL, many teams have found it considerably easier to chase. Now, the finalists of the final IPL clash this afternoon in Sharjah, and this is a classic instance of how things change in cricket. The Mumbai Indians, who many reckoned, were the best T20 franchise in the world, and perhaps even the best T20 team in the world, are stuttering in the bottom half and even though they aren’t out of contention, they need something beyond the numbers to turn this around – inspiration. Where will that come from?
Delhi have had another good run in the league stages, which isn’t exactly news. Their problem lies in play-off experience, but we’re far from that stage at the moment. At this point, DC are riding the high of having qualified for the play-offs once again, and MI are trying to retain their crown as the late-bloomers – but even they know, they’ve cut it a little too close now.
Pitch Report (Ian Bishop and Matthew Hayden):
“This is almost at the end of the square, so there is one square boundary that’s really short, so the batsmen will have an eye on that. The highest total batting first here in this leg is 156, which isn’t as high as last year. Mumbai are playing their first game here. Their batting tempo is what Mumbai will be looking for, because there’s no pace on this wicket and Mumbai haven’t been in the best of batting form.
The extra slowness of this pitch will get player getting out of shape to hit the ball, and one square boundary is really large. The bowlers have to make their adjustment on this pitch, in terms of length, but understanding what a good score is on this pitch will be even more of a challenge.”
Toss Time!
Rishabh Pant | Delhi Capitals Captain: We’re going to bowl first. When we played the last time, it felt like a better option to chase here. DC will take one match at a time, and even though we qualified, we will take one at a time. Lalit Yadav is out and Prithvi comes in.
Rohit Sharma | Mumbai Indians captain: I was in two minds about batting and bowling. Teams have lost batting first and chasing, so it doesn’t matter, we have to play good cricket and put runs on the board. Our bowling is amazing and has restricted oppositions so we just have to bat well and get a par score.
We know where we stand on the table but we have to focus on what we have in hand, and on the particular occasion. We have a good squad and have to perform collectively. Jayant Yadav comes into the team in place of Rahul Chahar.
Teams
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
Points Table situation:
If MI & CSK win their respective matches today, CSK will be assured of a top two finish as only one of RCB/DC will be able to reach 20 points.
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