Mumbai Indians (MI) will be facing Delhi Daredevils (DD) in their last league game which is another must-win encounter for them at the latter’s home ground. Delhi will be high on confidence, after their resounding win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but a win will not take them to the playoffs. However, if Mumbai win, they grab the fourth spot on the points table.
Let’s take a quick look at how the Rohit Sharma-led side might line-up or their game against Shreyas Iyer’s side.
Suryakumar Yadav is the only uncapped player in the history of IPL to score more than 500 runs in a single season, and that makes his place in the place XI a given. Being promoted as an opener has helped him score runs at will, and the local Mumbai boy will be hoping to make it big when it matters the most.
Evin Lewis has not exactly for the kind of form he would have liked to be in, but the big hitter is nevertheless valuable to Mumbai at the top of the order. We might see him play more freely if Mumbai bat first and have no pressure of a chase.
Ishan Kishan has not been too consistent with the bat but is the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Mumbai Indians. His one-off brilliance with the bat against KKR ensured that his batting is not questioned either. If the young batsman clicks on his day, there is no stopping him.
Rohit Sharma the skipper has surprised one and all this year with a dip in his form. He has failed to lead the batting from the front but will be hoping to silence the critics when it matters the most.
Kieron Pollard, who was dropped for inconsistency, made a brilliant comeback will be hoping to replicate his quickfire half-century from the previous game. The big match player has played several handy knocks for the Mumbai Indians in times of crisis.
As for all the all-rounders, Krunal Pandya has been handy with the bat but most importantly, he has served as one of the best fielders for his side, as was evident in the game against the Kings XI Punjab. His partnership with Pollard in the previous game took Mumbai to a big score.
Krunal’s brother Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, will look to bowl better in the big match, after being gone for several runs in the last few games. Although he is Mumbai’s highest wicket taker of the season so far, his economy rate is miserable.
Ben Cutting has been utilised as a part time bowler by the skipper and has fared decently well. With the bat too, he hasn’t been a complete mug and has contributed with a couple of crucial runs.
Mayank Markande, the find of the season for MI, apart from a few bad overs, has delivered consistently for his team. The young bowler will want to move on from the disastrous 16th over in which KL Rahul smashed him all over the park, and make an impact in the must-win game.
Mitchell McClenaghan has gone for plenty of runs but has also picked wickets at regular intervals, thus making his place in the playing XI certain.
Jasprit Bumrah, the death over specialist, has been performing his duties responsibly for his team. He has 16 wickets to his name this season and will be looking forward to continuing his good form if Mumbai want to make it to the playoffs.
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