IPL 2018: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils to battle it out for first win

Mumbai: After suffering back to back losses in the IPL, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils will look to open their respective accounts in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.

Mumbai suffered a one-wicket losses to Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi also endured a similar fortune as they lost their opening game against Kings XI Punjab by 6 wickets and then suffered their second loss to Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs (D/L method) in rain-curtailed match.

The hosts have many fast bowling options, but the pacers haven’t haven't been able to make an impact. Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Mclagahen, Mustafizur Rahman, Pradeep Sangwan have failed to finish the game at the death.

With Akila Dhananjaya and U-19 world cup winner Anukul Roy in the ranks, Mumbai decided to go with Mayank Markande. The youngster has not disappointed so far, leading the Purple Cap list with 7 wickets from 2 games.

While Rohit Sharma has failed to score with the bat, Openers Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan have got starts but failed to score big. Lewis, against Sunrisers Hyderabad showed why he is so dangerous at the top. Suryakumar Yadav is the leading run scorer for the side after two games and Kieron Pollard has also had mix form with the bat.

The Pandya brothers (Krunal and Hardik) provide the finishing touches. With Hardik Pandya injuring his ankle in the first game against CSK, the pressure will be on Krunal to do well. Mumbai found it going hard during their second game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Delhi Daredevils, meanwhile, boasts of a fine line-up of talented young Indian batsmen in Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, and local boy Shreyas Iyer. New Zealand opener Colin Munro at the top hasn’t fired on all cylinders yet and could make way for India U-19 World Cup-winning captain and local boy Prithvi Shaw. Skipper Gautam Gambhir has had a fine start to the tournament with the bat.

Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris enhance the batting depth. All-rounder Daniel Christian is also an option.

The visitors have played some good cricket but haven’t been able to apply finishing touches in the earlier games. The batsmen have been brilliant in patches but need to be more consistent.

Skipper Gambhir has been smart with his choices like his bowling variations. Delhi has the firepower in-form of Trent Boult, Chris Morris, and Mohammed Shami. Harshal Patel and Liam Plunkett are waiting for their first game in the tournament. Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav are good bowling options with Nepal teenager Sandeep Lamichanne to back the experienced spinners.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar, Evin Lewis, Saurabh Tiwary, Ben Cutting, Pradeep Sangwan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Tajinder Singh, Sharad Lumba, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Mayank Markande, Akila Dananjaya, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh, Mitchell McClenaghan.

Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Sandeep Lamichhane, Manjot Kalra, Glenn Maxwell, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Shahbaz Nadeem, Naman Ojha, Rishabh Pant, Harshal Patel, Jason Roy, Vijay Shankar, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Daniel Christian, Sayan Ghosh, Gurkeerat Singh Mann.

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 4 pm IST on Sunday (April 14)

Where is the match?

The match will take place at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Live telecast and timings:

With Star India now acquiring the media rights from Sony Pictures Network India for the upcoming season, the matches will be telecast on various Star Sports channels.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.