While Mumbai Indians look for revenge against Delhi in their backyard, the Shreyas Iyer led Capitals will hope to counter the three-time defending champions on a low and slow wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi.
While Delhi sit comfortably in second place at the table, Mumbai are just behind and will hope to capitalize in Delhi’s backyard which the hosts still have not yet figured out. While skipper Iyer suffered a mild injury during training, today’s clash would have all eyes on youngster Rishah Pant who missed out on making the 2019 ICC World Cup squad.
Pant has been mum on being ignored for the 50-over tournament in favour of Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik and it would be interesting to see how the 21-year-old’s bat responds to the disappointment. With 10 points from eight games, both teams are on course to make the playoffs.
While that counts as familiar territory for three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, Capitals are in the middle of a remarkable resurgence, having not finished in the top-four since 2012.
With both team’s batsmen on fine form, the encounter is expected to be high scoring despite the slow tracks producing low totals on the scoreboard. With Delhi’s batsman Colin Ingram away due to the birth of his child, Munro is expected to step up once again. With the slow track turning as well, Sandeep Lamichhane is expected to play as well.
For Mumbai, the three-time champs would look to bring in Mayank Markande along with Rahul Chahar given the conditions. With Jason Behrendorff going for runs in recent matches, Mitchell McClenaghan is expected to be brought in.
Predicted Playing XI
Delhi Capitals Probable XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada,
Mumbai Indians Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan.