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The thunderstorms brought a pleasant end to what was a scorching Delhi afternoon on Friday, a day out from the IPL 2024 clash between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. It was a much-needed breather for the players who were braving the heat while working on their skills under the unforgiving sun.
However, Saturday may not be as generous. The two teams run into each other in the day game and will not just be battling each other but also the weather to keep about their wits with the temperatures predicted to be in the late 30s.
Both the teams are in the bottom half of the table but very much in the playoffs race. DC, after a below-par start to their season, seem to be on an improvement spree with captain Rishabh Pant at the forefront. They have won three of their previous four games since they last met MI in what was a high-scoring affair.
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Incidentally, their previous meeting was also an afternoon game and over 439 runs were scored across the 40 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. Given how the pitches have played out this year so far in Delhi, expect another run-fest.
MI, after recovering from a hat-trick of defeats at the start of the competition, are struggling for consistency. They have lost two of their last three games and they are up against DC, a team against whom they recorded their first win of the season.
What: DC vs MI, IPL Match no 43
When: April 27 (Saturday)
Start Time: 3:30 PM IST
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
DC Team News
DC Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly confirmed that both David Warner and Ishant Sharma are injured and will not be available for the third match in a row. However, DC have hardly felt the absence of Warner with newbie Jason Fraser-McGurk firing away at the top. In four games, he has scored 163 runs at a strike rate of 211.68. DC though will hope for consistency from Prithvi Shaw who has managed just one half-century in seven innings.
DC will be elated with the form of their skipper Pant who switched to beast mode in their last game against Gujarat Titans, hitting an unbeaten 88 off 43. They promoted Axar Patel to no.3 and he responded with a sparkling 43-ball 66.
DC are struggling with the form of their overseas pacers, especially Anrich Nortje who has seven wickets from six games and an economy of 13.36. Kuldeep Yadav has been their star with the ball so far and Axar has been exceptional too, managing to keep the batters quiet during a season when 200-plus totals have become a norm.
DC may go unchanged with their playing XI although there’s a case for giving Jhye Richardson, who has played just one match so far, another go.
DC Probable XI
Prithvi Shaw, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Axar Patel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje/Jhye Richardson, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar
MI Teams News
There are no major injury concerns in the squad. Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan have been the in-form batters but they would be hoping for the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and captain Hardik Pandya to contribute more with the bat. An in-form MI batting line-up will be a nightmare for the bowlers.
Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah has been the standout performer and with 13 wickets, features high up in the purple cap rankings. However, his economy of 6.37 has been more impressive considering how ruthless the batting has been thus far in the season. Gerald Coetzee has been among the wickets but has proven very expensive (economy of 10.10). Akash Madhwal is yet to hit his stride with the spin duo of Piyush Chawla and Shreyas Gopal managing a combined wickets tally of six from 21 overs with both being quite generous with their economy rate too.
MI Probable XI
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah
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