Delhi Daredevils (DD) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) in a clash of titans at Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Friday. Last time the teams met, it was in Mumbai where Delhi won by a convincing margin. DD would be looking forward to repeat their performance whereas Mumbai would look forward to seek revenge on the team which is currently sitting at the zenith of the points table.
Mumbai Indians have looked inconsistent in this year’s tournament and won four matches out of the seven they played, whereas Daredevils have showed great attacking cricket and have won five matches out of seven they have played so far.
Both teams would go all guns out in this high intensity clash and here are some players on whom the whole match is likely to revolve around.
Mumbai Indians:
Sachin Tendulkar: The Little Master has not played a long innings but the 20-30 that he has been scoring shows that the maestro is in good touch and a master innings is somewhere around the corner. Sehwag will have a strategy for him, because he knows if Sachin gets going their statistics at the top may very well get spoiled.
Rohit Sharma: He is going through a great form and has already played couple of match winning knocks. MI would want to him to fire if they want to reign supreme at the Kotla.
Pragyan Ojha: This talented left-arm spinner will have a very crucial role against the right-handed Delhi batsmen. Kevin Pietersen’s history with the left-armers is known to everyone and Mumbai will be banking on Ojha to come out on top in this battle. He is a big spinner of the ball and has the ability to induce batsmen into playing bad strokes.
Munaf Patel: He is one the top wickets takers in IPL this season but has been off colors in the last few games. He would be raring to go and do justify his talent in this match.
Delhi Daredevils:
Virender Sehwag: The captain of the Delhi team looked very good in the last innings that he played. He looks focused and determined to prove his point in this years’ IPL. If he stays on the pitch for a substantial time, then Delhi will have a very good chance of defeating Mumbai again.
Kevin Pietersen: The innovative Englishman is looking in great form. He had a very good tour of Sri Lanka and played some important innings for Delhi. He has some great shots in his armory. Pietersen is a very important member of the Delhi batting unit and the Mumbai team will have to get past him if they want to score some points in this match.
Morne Morkel: Morkel is the holder of the purple cap and he has bowled some fiery spells in this season. Morkel is one of the major reasons why Delhi is so successful this season. He bowls a swift pace and will be looking to make early in-roads in the Mumbai’s batting line-up.
Irfan Pathan: Pathan has bowled well in all the matches for Delhi Daredevils. The best thing about his bowling has been that he has got his swing back and that has made him look very dangerous. With the bat as well he has played some good innings and Delhi will need his all-round skill to come out on top against Mumbai.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News
