DC Vs MI
Match Preview
Mumbai Indians (MI) take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first match of an IPL 2021 double-header at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will clash in the second game of the day.
MI broke their winless streak in the UAE by beating the Punjab Kings with an over to spare in their last outing. DC, meanwhile, were outplayed by KKR in their previous game at Sharjah, with Prithvi Shaw missing out due to an injury.
The Mumbai Indians put in an excellent bowling performance to restrain the Punjab Kings before muscling their way to a win. Rohit Sharma elected to bowl at the toss and also provided some surprising team news. Saurabh Tiwary replaced Ishan Kishan at No.4 and vindicated that decision by playing a crucial hand in the run-chase.
After a tidy bowling performance helped restrict PBKS to 135/6, MI faltered early in their pursuit. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav both fell to Ravi Bishnoi as PBKS piled on the pressure. However, Saurabh Tiwary maintained a cool head and batted responsibly to get MI to a decent position. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard then joined forces to finish the match off, regaining their form in the process.
DC, meanwhile, didn't get enough runs on the board after being put in to bat by KKR. While Rishabh Pant kept on going, the wickets kept tumbling at the other end as DC stumbled their way to 127/9. While they stood a chance with the ball at one point, expensive overs from Lalit Yadav and Kagiso Rabada took the game away from them, even as Avesh Khan bowled brilliantly.
While DC should have Prithvi Shaw back, Marcus Stoinis should remain out for another match. MI don't have any injury concerns. The last time these sides met, Amit Mishra bowled DC to a win over MI, and it'll be interesting to see if he features in this game.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
Mumbai Indians:
Rohit Sharma. The MI skipper has struck 677 runs for MI vs DC at an average of 33.85 and strike rate of 131.71. He has scored 44 (30) and 67 (51) in his last two knocks vs Delhi.
However, Rohit has endured a poor run in IPL matches at Sharjah. He has scored just the 14 runs in three matches on this ground at an average of 4.67. He is certainly capable of turning this around.
Quinton de Kock performed pretty well against DC in the UAE last year. The Protea made scores of 40 (25), 26 (28), 53 (36) and 20 (12). Also, he has made starts in all four matches of the UAE leg (17, 55, 24, 27) and MI will be hoping QdK goes on to make a significant score.
Also, de Kock has scored 154 runs in four innings at Sharjah at an average of 51.67 and strike rate of 136.28.
Saurabh Tiwary has been an important performer for MI when given the opportunity. He scored an important 37-ball 45 in his last game vs PBKS.
Kieron Pollard is coming off a player of the match performance against PBKS (2/8 and 15 off 7 balls). The MI legend, however, has a modest record against the Capitals compared to other teams, with 354 runs in 23 innings at an average of 23.60 and strike rate of 140.48.
In three innings at Sharjah, Pollard has slammed 99 runs at a strike rate of 145.59 for just the one dismissal.
Hardik Pandya, who scored a 30-ball 40 a few days ago vs Punjab, also has a modest record against the Capitals (13 inns, 161 runs, avg. 16.10, SR 150.47). It is his brother, Krunal Pandya, who has the better batting numbers vs DC, with 250 runs in 11 innings at an average of 31.25 and strike rate of 170.07. Also, Krunal has nine wickets in 12 innings vs DC at an average of 24.
Jasprit Bumrah is on a dream run vs Delhi Capitals. In his last five matches against them, Bumrah has taken figures of 1/32, 4/14, 3/17, 0/26 and 2/24. Also, Bumrah has taken four wickets in two matches at Sharjah (avg. 16.50, SR 12.00).
Trent Boult strikes every two overs on average vs Delhi Capitals (18 overs, nine wickets, avg. 13.22). He was player of the match in last year’s IPL Final, with figures of 3/30. Also, Boult has six wickets in two matches at Sharjah.
Probable XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile/J Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Delhi Capitals:
Shikhar Dhawan hit top form? In nine matches for DC vs MI, Dhawan has struck 235 runs at an average of 29.60 and strike rate of 116.92, including 45 (42) earlier this season.
Shreyas Iyer was out cheaply last game vs KKR (1), but the right-hander was in some fine touch before that with scores of 47* and 43 vs Sunrisers and Royals respectively.
Iyer has a similar record to Dhawan against MI, with an average of 29.64 and strike rate of 119.41. This includes 65* off 50 balls in the last match he played against them – the IPL 2020 Final.
Rishabh Pant will be key in these slow Sharjah conditions. The DC skipper strikes at 146.41 in 11 innings vs MI, with 306 runs at an average of 30.60. He scored 39 off 36 balls a couple of days ago on this ground vs KKR.
Among teams he’s played at least 10 matches against, Steve Smith’s average of 42 against Mumbai Indians makes them his favourite opponent. Overall, Smudge has scored 462 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 128.69
Kagiso Rabada strikes every 14.67 deliveries at Sharjah. However, he will be aiming to improve on his economy rate of 10.02 on this ground, especially after the onslaught from Sunil Narine last game.
Against MI, Rabada has taken 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 27.80 and strike rate of 19.80.
Anrich Nortje has been in fine touch in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, with figures of 2/12, 2/18 and 1/15. He has taken four wickets in four matches vs MI (avg. 32, econ. 9.85).
Avesh Khan is having a terrific IPL. Only Harshal Patel (23) has more wickets than Avesh (18), who is coming off 3/13 on this ground a couple of days ago vs KKR.
Probable XI
Steve Smith, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav/Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje/Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan
Stats and Facts
Head-to-head: Matches 29, MI 16, DC 13.
Delhi Capitals (138/4) beat Mumbai Indians (137/9) earlier this year after MI beat them four times in the UAE last season.
ifPrithvi Shaw is fit, he will have to overcome a poor record against MI (7 inns, 60 runs, avg. 8.57).
MI could look to play Jayant Yadav. In his last four games vs DC, he has taken 1/25 three times and 0/18 in the other.
DC could be tempted to play Amit Mishra. He took 4/24 vs MI earlier this year, part of 19 wickets in 14 matches for DC against Mumbai.
Mumbai Indians are scoring at just 8.23 runs per over at the death in IPL 2021, which is their worst in any season.
Pitch Report
We could see a new strip used in the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and that should play a bit better than the games before. However, it's likely to continue to be on the slower side, with spinners likely to play an important role. 160 should be a competitive total on this surface.
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