It’s do or die for MI - Mumbai Indians

DD had beaten us by seven wickets courtesy a Jason Roy special.In The SpotlightDelhi DaredevilsHarshal Patel turned in a match-winning performance against CSK on Friday.

Context

This is it, then. It’s come down to our last league match. It’s pretty simple, so to speak. To qualify for the playoffs, we must beat Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday. If we lose, we are out of the tournament. DD may be the bottom-placed team, but they played like bosses against Chennai Super Kings on Friday night. In other words, they won’t be pushovers. Also, our boys will be keen on making amend for the first-leg result. DD had beaten us by seven wickets courtesy a Jason Roy special.

In The Spotlight

Delhi Daredevils

Harshal Patel turned in a match-winning performance against CSK on Friday. First, he smashed Dwayne Bravo for four sixes in the 20th over to propel DD to 162. Then, he returned figures of 4-0-23-1, including the scalp of top-scorer Ambati Rayudu as DD got home with ease. Patel is a utility player. And he will do everything in his power to spoil our party.

Since his 36-ball 65 against SRH two weeks ago, Prithvi Shaw has scored just 28 runs in three innings. One of the most gifted batsmen around, Shaw would want to make a statement against MI, especially because he, too, hails from the Maximum City. Our bowlers will have to be wary of his free-spirited batting. Shaw can do a lot of damage if he gets going.

Mumbai Indians

Since his match-winning 56 not out against CSK in Pune on April 28, Rohit Sharma has scored 0, 24 not out, 11, 36, 0 and 6. This is a rare lean patch for the third highest run-getter in the tournament’s 11-year history. The skipper is known to strike it rich in crunch matches. Sunday could be his day.

Mayank Markande picked up the last of his 14 wickets in Kolkata on May 9. He went wicketless against in our home games against RR and KXIP. In other words, the leg-spinner is due a big performance. The 20-year-old can derive encouragement from Amit Mishra’s performance (4-0-20-0) against CSK on Friday. The Kotla strip has something in it for the spinners. Can Markande put up a special performance?

Key Clashes

Jasprit Bumrah vs Rishabh Pant Bumrah has picked up 16 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.86 with 125 dot balls to boot. And Pant has amassed 620 runs at an eye-popping strike rate of 177 this season. You don’t want to miss this contest.

Trent Boult vs Suryakumar Yadav With 17 wickets, Boult has been one of DD’s best performers this season. Ditto with Yadav who, with 500 runs, tops the batting charts for MI. Boult is a canny customer, especially with the new ball. And Yadav will have to be at his best to counter whatever the Kiwi sends his way.

Number Game

Head to Head 11-10

Form Guide DD: WLLLW MI: WLWWW

Last 5 Matches MI have won three of the last five encounters. DD came up trumps when the teams met in Mumbai on April 14 this season.

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