3 player battles to watch out for in DC vs MI, Match 29 of IPL 2025 ft. KL Rahul

Delhi Capitals (DC) will play their first game at their designated home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 13. Both teams have had contrasting campaigns so far this season.

While Delhi are in the top half of the points table, with four consecutive wins from as many outings, Mumbai are reeling in the bottom half, with one win and four losses from five games. While the Axar Patel-led side look to continue their top form, MI look to bounce back and find winning momentum.

As the two sides gear up to face off, we look at the three player battles to watch out for:

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#3 Jake Fraser-McGurk vs Trent Boult

DC opener Jake Fraser-McGurk has had a season to forget so far, having scored just 46 runs from four outings, with a 38-run knock being his highest individual score. He has failed to provide his team with the desired starts, and will be on target when he takes the field against MI.

Trent Boult’s campaign this season has also been mediocre, with just five wickets from as many outings for MI. Even his best figures of this season have been one to forget- 2/57. Nonetheless, he possesses a skill that very few bowlers do - consistently picking up wickets in the powerplay.

The two players will likely see each other off in the powerplay overs, and the Australian batter will be Boult’s target. He has scored 27 runs in 17 balls faced against the Kiwi pacer, who has dismissed him once in two T20 outings.

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#2 Rohit Sharma vs Mitchell Starc

Former MI captain Rohit Sharma has struggled with the bat this season and has been dismissed cheaply in almost all his outings. He has managed to accumulate only 38 runs in four games and been dismissed early in the powerplay in all games.

Mitchell Starc is among the leading wicket-takers for DC this season, with nine scalps from four outings. He registered his best bowling figures across T20s by scalping his maiden five-wicket haul against SunRisers Hyderabad, and will look to carry the same momentum against MI.

With Rohit clearly struggling to score and Starc in good form with the ball, this will be one battle to watch out for. The Mumbai batter’s records against the Aussie bowler have been phenomenal as he has 56 runs off 28 deliveries against Starc. The DC pacer has dismissed Sharma twice in these six innings.

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#1 KL Rahul vs Jasprit Bumrah

Two top guns of T20 cricket - KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah will have the responsibility of performing well for their respective sides, DC and MI. The wicketkeeper-batter is in tremendous form and is the leading run scorer for his side, with 185 runs from three games, and an unbeaten 93 being his best knock so far.

Bumran returned to competitive cricket only in MI’s last outing and is yet to gain momentum with the ball, but one can never count him out of the game. One of the finest bowlers in world cricket currently, the team will rely on Bumrah to provide the crucial breakthroughs during the contest.

With KL Rahul playing long innings this season, he is likely to face Bumrah’s pace deliveries. The duo have a great record facing each other. The Karnataka-born has notched up 146 runs in 117 balls that he has faced off the MI pacer, hitting him for 13 fours and four sixes.

They have faced off in 13 innings, where Bumrah has dismissed Rahul twice.