Time is running out for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). They came into the tournament as one of the favorites, but things have gone horribly wrong so far.
With only three wins in eight matches, the five-time champions are placed ninth in the standings. They are level on points with Punjab Kings (PBKS), who shocked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last night at Eden Gardens to leapfrog them.
MI will take heart from the fact that one of those three wins came against Delhi Capitals (DC), whom they will face at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in an afternoon fixture on Saturday, April 27.
Mumbai triumphed in a high-scoring contest at the Wankhede Stadium earlier in the season, when Romario Shepherd's dazzling cameo tilted things in their favor. Tristan Stubbs' brilliant unbeaten 71 went in vain as the Capitals fell 29 runs short.
Since then, though, Delhi's form has improved, with three wins in their four matches since that meeting. Jake Fraser-McGurk has smacked a few around at the top of the order, and the added firepower in the batting department has helped all other areas.
DC are three places ahead of MI on the table, in sixth place. They can go past the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with a win, although the Men in Yellow would have two games in hand.
Mumbai have won their last three clashes against Delhi and will hope that they can bank on that head-to-head record to get their campaign back on track. Can Hardik Pandya and Co. get back to winning ways? Or will Rishabh Pant and his men notch up another home victory?
IPL 2024, DC vs MI Win Probability: Mumbai bank on Bumrah in Delhi
The Arun Jaitley Stadium has produced run-fests in IPL 2024, with scores easily crossing the 200-run mark. The game is likely to come down to which team executes better on the night, and it's thus tough to predict a winner.
Jasprit Bumrah could be MI's trump card against DC. His four overs aren't going to go for many runs irrespective of how batting-friendly the surface is, which is what happened during the reverse fixture. With Nuwan Thushara to back him up, Bumrah could prove to be the difference between the two sides.
Kuldeep Yadav is a bowler who can have a similar impact for Delhi, but Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma are excellent players of quality spin. Nehal Wadhera, who was introduced in the last game, is another name in good form.
The nature of the venue makes this a tough pick, but MI might be slightly ahead.
Prediction: MI to win Match 42 of IPL 2024.
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