Delhi lock horns with Mumbai with RCB’s fate hanging in the balance

This is probably going to be the most-watched game of this year’s IPL with people ganging up for and against RCB instead of only the two involved teams, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. Saturday night will play host to the most thrilling encounter of the ongoing tournament as Mumbai Indians clash with the mighty Delhi Capitals who will be eyeing a playoff berth and must win to achieve while a defeat sends RCB to the play-offs.

Delhi come into this contest on the back of an emphatic win against the Punjab Kings as their bowlers pulled off a phenomenal job to cut short the latter’s chase by 17 runs. Their batters struggled to pull off something herculean but their bowlers led by the collaborative efforts of Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav plundered 8 wickets between them to leave the Kings reeling.

Mumbai Indians managed to secure some late steam despite a defeat in the preceding encounter. They did manage to come close but would eventually come a cropper by 3 runs in the end. However, the latter half of the campaign has been slightly kinder to the five-time champions, unlike the early stages where it was nothing but unfamiliar territory.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede will play host to some insane batting exploits and both the sides will have to depend on their batters to fire. The surface here provides that additional bounce and carry at the start of the contest which will give something to the pacers while the second half of the battle will witness the dew coming in, which will balance out the equations for the batters and spinners. The last contest played here witnessed RCB successfully chasing down 169 with their openers coming together to ease any possible troubles. However, seeing the Titans bat, it was clear that the ball was gripping onto the surface that will be troubling the batters early on.

Ideal result for RCB:

The equation is absolutely simple for the Challengers. There are no other thoughts than a defeat for the Delhi Capitals that can put the Challengers through. The net run rate difference is off the charts and there is hardly anything else that RCB would like to think about. In the simplest of terms, if Delhi Capitals win, RCB crashes out and if Mumbai walk away with the bragging rights, the Challengers sail through.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals:

Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Abhishek Sharma, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Vicky Ostwal, Sarfaraz Khan.

Mumbai Indians:

Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, M Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Riley Meredith, Mohd Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh

Match Details:

Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date: 21st May 2022

Time: 7:30 PM IST