The return to form of Lasith Malinga in the last couple of games after struggling in the initial phase must have been a relief for Sharma.
There is little to choose between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils as the two lock horns in their 10th league encounter at Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday night.
Both have had inconsistent results in their nine matches so far. Both have four wins and five losses with eight points apiece, JP Duminy’s DD lying at fifth place, two above Rohit Sharma’s Team in Blue. Both have players with immense potential and experience, some of them not living up to the expectations.
Daredevils placed lot of faith in Yuvraj Singh and acquired him for Rs 16 crore, but he has only been a pale shadow of his own self.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have so heavily relied on captain Rohit Sharma that if he does not score, the team struggles when he fails. Only in the last couple of games have Mumbai Indians gained some footing with impressive performances.
Ambati Rayudu coming good against Rajasthan Royals last Friday and the diminutive wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel justifying his place as an opener in Mohali on Sunday, giving their Sharma some breathing space.
After struggling to find the right combination in their first few games, Mumbai Indians now have more or less a settled combination. Left-arm medium-pacer Mitchell McCleneghan has come in nicely for his fellow Kiwi Corey Anderson, picking up wickets while also trouble the batsmen with his length. And so has Lendl Simmons with the bat replacing the hamstrung Aaron Finch.
The return to form of Lasith Malinga in the last couple of games after struggling in the initial phase must have been a relief for Sharma.
The visitors, however, take confidence from the fact that they won against Mumbai Indians when they hosted them in Delhi. Daredevils posted their highest total this season — 190/4 — to carve out a 37-run win.
“Definitely the win against Mumbai in the previous game helps,” said TA Sekar, DD mentor, on Monday. “Every team has its own strategy. Don’t know what strategy Mumbai have got for us. We will definitely be planning for them.”
But on recent form, Mumbai Indians have the upperhand, having won two back-to-back games going into Tuesday’s match while DD’s has been a see-saw, losing three including the one against Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium, and winning two in their last five.
The beauty of IPL is that players enter the visitors’ dressing room even in their own home ground while outstation players are hosts.
Having played for Mumbai in the domestic competition at the Wankhede, the comeback man Zaheer Khan, who has featured in IPL’s first and 500th games, and Shreyas Iyer will be feeling at home as visitors while Delhiite Unmukt Chand will be itching to do well against his former franchise.
Mumbai have the edge over Delhi in the fielding department. Sekar admitted: “Our fielding (against RR) was really below par” but said that the bowling this year is a lot better than last year’s. “We have more than five options. Last year we did not have the bowling options,” Sekar added.
Traditionally, matches between Delhi and Mumbai in national championships are keenly contested and have a long history. Though this is franchise cricket, the intensity will, nevertheless, be the same.
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