Mumbai Indians know very well what they need to do. Beat Deli Daredevils and beat them handsomely. As simple as that. Win this game, they will be on 14 points, same as Rajasthan Royals but with a better net run rate than them.
Even if Kings XI win their game and finish on 14 points as well, Mumbai Indians will get ahead of them and enter the play-offs as they have a better net run rate than Kings XI.
Yes, all that is true, but only if they win. If they lose, they are out and that would be an ignominious exit for this much heralded team.
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Rohit Sharma knows this. But the very fact they have come so far is incredible, considering the horrid start to their season. Rohit will be particularly pleased that his top overseas player Kieron Pollard is finally among the runs. Because of that, the Mumbai batting unit looks much better.
Pollard smashed a brilliant 50 off just 23 balls in the last match against Kings XI Punjab. Rohit said, “Pollard has always been a match-winner for us. Leaving him out was a tough decision. We thought now was the time to bring him back. Not to take away from Duminy, who hasn’t got opportunities.”
“We thought if he’s batting down the order, Pollard will be the better option for us. Come the big game, Pollard stands up for us. He was disappointed at being left out. What he did with the bat today, that’s what he does,” he added.
The only issue now is Rohit’s form. Rohit has had his worst IPL in a while. Perhaps that’s because the three youngsters at the top have taken on much of the responsibility from him.
We are talking about Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Kishan, who have been brilliant at various stages in the competition.
For Delhi, young Sandeep Lamichhane, all of 17 and the 35-year-old Amit Mishra, have been outstanding in recent games. They will depend on Rishabh Pant to win this game for them.
Prediction: Mumbai Indians will win, definitely!
The Teams
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Abhishek Sharma, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Sandeep Lamichhane, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Avesh Khan
Mumbai Indians: 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Suryakumar Yadav, 3 Rohit Sharma (capt), 4 Ishan Kishan (wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ben Cutting, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mayank Markande
Watch Delhi Daredevils play Mumbai Indians this evening at 4 pm live on Star Sports!
