Mumbai Indians lost the first two matches of the IPL. Both games went down to the wire with Mumbai finishing on the losing side by just one wicket.
As they host Delhi Daredevils at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Mumbai can either draw confidence from the fact they came achingly close to victory on two occasions or worry that they couldn’t close out the match.
The Delhi Daredevils are themselves looking for their first win of the tournament.
TALKING POINTS
The absence of Hardik Pandya has upset the balance of the Mumbai Indians team. He did not feature in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to an ankle injury he picked up in the first game and his replacement Ben Cutting didn’t score many runs and went for 40 from his four overs.
If Hardik remains injured, his brother Krunal will have to take more responsibility and possibly move up the order, pushing wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan down.
Seamers Jasprit Bumrah (2-32) and Mustafizur Rahman (3-24) were very good against Hyderabad, which means at least one base is covered for Mumbai.
The Daredevils look some way away from finding their rhythm. Opener Colin Munro has failed in two matches. He is one player who can hold the team together at the top and with the ball but that hasn’t happened.
PLAYERS IN FOCUS
Mumbai Indians have unearthed a gem in leg-spinner Mayank Markande. Seven wickets in his first two IPL games means it is impossible to look beyond his leg-spinners and googlies. The nerves must have settled by now and Markande should be in a position to dictate terms.
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell needs to do a lot better than an indifferent 12-ball 17 against Rajasthan. Maxwell has a big role to play with the bat and ball and given his experience, expect him to make his presence felt sooner rather than later.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Mumbai Indians: Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya*, Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande
Delhi Daredevils: Colin Munro, Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant (wk), Chris Morris, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami
*Subject to fitness
