Sharjah: The Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals were scheduled to face off in their upcoming IPL 2021 encounter on October 2, 3:30 PM IST, at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Delhi Capitals defeated Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets in their previous encounter in the tournament.
With five victories from 11, MI is set at fifth place with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 10 points, with the latter a slot ahead on net run rate. DC is in second place with eight victories out of 11 games, a total of 16 points, and is one win away from securing a playoff berth.
Mumbai Indians begun their tournament on a sour note with two losses, but a win over Punjab Kings has put them back on track. MI defeated Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in their previous match. PBKS batted first and put up a low total of 135-6 on the board. Aiden Markram, who scored 42 runs, was the only batsman to play well.
MI opener Rohit Sharma (8) and one-down Suryakumar Yadav (0) were also dismissed cheaply later. Later, Saurabh Tiwary scored 45, while Hardik Pandya smashed 40 to give MI the winning runs. With 6 wickets in hand, MI won the match in 19 overs.
The Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have begun the IPL 2021 season on a high note with back-to-back victories. DC had been dominant throughout the tournament, but their loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders has put some pressure on Rishabh Pant and his teammates.
Batting first, DC fell victim to KKR’s strong bowling attack. Steve Smith and Rishabh Pant tied for the most runs with 39, while Shikhar Dhawan scored 24. The remaining batsmen could barely muster single-digit runs. The scoreboard read 127-7 for DC.
Later, KKR’s Nitish Rana struck an important unbeaten 36 runs off 27 balls. At one point, KKR found themselves in a difficult situation, behind 96-5. However, Nitish and Sunil Narine, who scored 21 off 10 balls, helped KKR win in the end.
Probable XI
MI: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.
DC: Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith/Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Avesh Khan.
