ABOUT THE MATCH

The Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals have found momentum in IPL 2019 and are
currently in the top half of the league table. In fact, both the teams are separated by just
net run-rate from each other. They have won five out of the eight matches they have
played and are coming into this match with a lot of confidence.


This match will be the second time that the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals play
against each other in IPL 2019. The first match was won by the Delhi Capitals thanks to
a brilliant inning from Rishab Pant. Both teams have changed their playing eleven a little
since then and it will be interesting to see the effect India’s World Cup 2019 squad
announcement has on the players.
The venue for this match is the Ferozshah Kotla, New Delhi. Ricky Ponting described
the surface here as the worst he has seen in IPL 2019 for the previous match. Whether
things change remains to be seen.

DELHI CAPITALS

Delhi is perhaps the only team in IPL 2019 that would be dreading the prospect of
playing its home matches. The squad that Delhi has is built around power hitters and
some quality fast bowlers. This not a bunch of players that likes to play attritional cricket
on slow turners but that is exactly what they are served up time after time.
Delhi Capitals have played three matches at home this season. They ended up losing to
Chennai Super Kings, tied the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (eventually winning
in the Super Over), and lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In all three matches, the Delhi batting suffered a collapse.
Delhi added Colin Munro to the side in the previous match and he made an immediate
impact. Munro smashed three sixes and looked very good during the time he spent at
the crease. Keemo Paul is also another player that performed very well with the ball
during the previous match.
The West-Indian all-rounder is the sixth bowling option for the side and is not
particularly good at batting either. He is, however, likely to find a place in the team
because of his performance in the previous match.
Delhi’s bowling lineup is quite good. Kagiso Rabada is the highest wicket-taker of the
tournament, Ishant Sharma has been good with the new ball, and Chris Morris is
effective at the end of the inning. Axar Patel and Amit Mishra have been given the spin-

bowling responsibilities and both the players have been decent without being
spectacular.
Mumbai has Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya in their side, two players that have done
very well against Amit Mishra in the past, and so we think that Amit Mishra might not
play this match.

MUMBAI INDIANS

The Mumbai Indians have really started to come together nicely as a side in the last few
matches. Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma are playing aggressively to set the tone of
the inning while the middle order is full of power. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya
have been very good in IPL 2019 and are able to hit sixes with ease from the moment
they arrive at the crease.
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav also played a few useful innings in the previous
match to give the batting a very solid look. If anything, we would be concerned at the
fact that Kieron Pollard is once again being shifted down the order minimizing the
number of deliveries he faces in the middle.
One of the biggest advantages that the Mumbai Indians have over the Delhi Capitals is
their ability to play spin bowling. Almost all of their Indian batsmen are good against spin
and that could be decisive in Delhi.
Mumbai Indians also have an advantage when it comes to pressure situations. They
have Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga, two bowlers who specialize at bowling yorkers
during the end overs. The middle order of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Krunal
Pandya is also very good in tough situations.
The bowling attack had Jason Behrendorff, Rahul Chahar, and the two Pandya brothers
alongside Bumrah and Malinga in the previous match. That is an excellent bowling
lineup with options for any kind of playing surface they may encounter.
We don’t think there will be any change in the Mumbai Indians playing eleven for this
match either.
The only possible weakness that is seen in the Mumbai Indians side is a tendency to
over attack while batting first. All of their batsmen perform better with a target in front of
them. Batting first can be difficult since they aim for a total that may be a bit too high at
times and end up falling very short.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS

DC vs MI IPL 2019 is going to be played at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi.
The weather forecast for the match is quite good. Clear skies are expected and there is
next to no threat of rain. The real question is going to be about the playing surface.
We have seen the Feroz Shah Kotla over the years and it has started being a spinner’s
paradise. There is not much that the groundsman can do in such a short span of time to
be able to change the nature of the pitch.
The spinners are going to play a major role and run-scoring will not be as fluent as it
has been at other venues.
MY DREAM11 PICK
 WICKETKEEPER:
o Quinton de Kock
 BATSMEN:
o Shikhar Dhawan
o Rohit Sharma (c)
o Prithvi SHaw
o Kieron Pollard
o Colin Munro (vc)
 ALL-ROUNDERS:
o Hardik Pandya
o Colin Munro
 BOWLERS:
o Rahul Chahar
o Kagiso Rabada
o Jasprit Bumrah
My Money is on MI...
 Both teams are in good form heading into this match
 Delhi Capitals have won their last three matches against the Mumbai Indians
 The playing conditions in Delhi are spin-friendly