The 47th game of the IPL will be played between the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The hosts have already qualified for the semi-final and will look to strike a balance between experimenting and not losing their momentum, while Delhi will go into the game after having capitulated to the Kings XI Punjab in the previous match-up. While Mumbai will go into the game as favourites – 9/10 at Stan James – they do not have to win the game, while Delhi (11/10 at Sky Bet) know that a loss here could put them out of reckoning for a semi-finals berth.
Delhi had had an appalling game on a rather slow Kotla wicket, a couple of days ago, and will look to eradicate those memories. Gautam Gambhir (7/2 at Sky Bet to be the best batsman of his side), despite being critical of the Kotla pitch, needs to understand that three successive run-outs can never be related to the pitch. Virender Sehwag (11/4 at Sky Bet to top-score for Delhi), on the other hand, has continued to blow hot and cold, which is making life difficult for his side. Despite the return of Tillakaratne Dilshan (4/1 at Stan James to be the best batsman) to India after his bladder-stone issues, he will continue to remain out of the side due to the presence of the all-rounder Paul Collingwood (5/1 at Stan James to be top-score for Delhi).
The Daredevils batting needs to come out with a strategy, something that the side seems to be lacking in at the present moment. Gambhir may have termed the Royals as an ordinary side, but the fact of the matter is that Delhi is one more ordinary game away from crashing out of the tournament!
The stories of Mumbai’s over-dependence of Sachin Tendulkar (7/4 at Stan James to top-score for his side) seem to be coming more true by the day as he smashed his highest T20 score in their win over Rajasthan Royals. The Indian pair of Ambati Rayadu (14/1 at Sky Bet to top-score for his side) and Saurabh Tiwary (9/2 at Stan James to be the best batsman for his side) failed once again and as the business end of the tournament approaches, they will need to go back to the drawing boards and try to bat without the pressure. In fact, it would be interesting to see what would happen if Tendulkar rests himself for a game or two before the semi-final and allows the rest of them to try and win the game.
With Sanath Jayasuriya (3/1 at Stan James to top-score for Mumbai in the game) back in the line-up after winning an election in Sri Lanka, it could also allow him to play in the manner that he had when the bowlers would be terrified of him.
Tips:
Favourites: Delhi Daredevils (11/10 at Sky Bet)
Top Delhi batsman: Paul Collingwood (5/1 at Stan James)
Top Mumbai batsman: Sanath Jayasuriya (3/1 at Stan James)