The rain threat looms large at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai but Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) will be hoping that the match does not get washed out, even if it is a rain-curtailed affair. DC face MI in must-win game away from home. Their perfect season was derailed by MI who now find themselves within touching distance of the fourth available playoffs spot. A win at home for MI will remove the DC roadblock.
Ahead of DC game, MI face just one dilemma. They are likely to retain the same team but will be confused whether to use leg-spinner Karn Sharma or left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar. In their previous clash, Ashwani replaced Corbin Bosch as concussion substitute and claimed two wickets from four overs, conceding 28 runs against Gujarat Titans (GT). On the other hand, Karn was MI's match-winner against DC at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Also, there will be a toss-up between Mitchell Santner and Bosch depending on the conditions.
MI's Predicted Playing XI plus impact player
Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch/Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma/Ashwani Kumar
On the other hand, DC's main issue is their top-order. Faf du Plessis' form has not been in good but his record against MI is decent. If Faf is benched, DC's Harry Brook replacement Sedqullah Atal may get to make his IPL debut. Considering how Karun Nair handled Jasprit Bumrah in the previous game, Axar Patel may be tempted to give him back his place by dropping Sameer Rizvi. In the bowling department, DC don't have many options and may stick with the current lineup.
DC's Predicted Playing XI plus impact player -
Faf du Plessis/Sediqullah Atal, KL Rahul, Abishek Porel (wk), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mustafizur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera
MI vs DC Pitch Report
While the pitch may suit seamers, there is a big question mark whether the weather will allow the game to proceed. Both teams will be ready with their plan B if rain plays spoilsport. This makes toss crucial as well.
MI vs DC Full Squads:
MI Squad: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Reece Topley, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs, Satyanarayana Raju
DC Squad: KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mustafizur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Manvanth Kumar L