IPL 2021: Match 46, MI vs DC Preview, Playing XI, Live Streaming Details & Updates

Delhi Capitals need a solitary win to seal their playoff berth, unlike Mumbai Indians, who need to win all remaining games to ensure the same.

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Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

IPL 2020 finalists, the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals will go face to face under the scorching sun in Sharjah on October 2. About a couple of weeks ago when the tournament resumed, both these sides looked well-placed to make it into the top four. Number four was in fact Mumbai position in the tally. Two weeks later, Mumbai enters this contest placed fifth.

A slip of one position might not sound too threatening, but it is in the current context, not least because the team Mumbai finds itself tied on points – fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders – have a net run rate far more superior than them.

Things for the well-placed Mumbai have gone awry in the UAE, where slipping to one defeat after another, they recorded a hat-trick of losses before arresting the slide in their last rubber against Punjab Kings, which did see them jump from seventh to fifth, but the worries remain.

Three defeats on the trot is not an unseen or never-been-here-before territory for Mumbai. But their slow restart has pushed them on the knife’s edge, leaving them with no option other than winning each of their remaining games to touch 16 points, a pedestal that unofficially guarantees a playoff berth.

Mumbai have found too many holes in their ship this season, with their star-studded all-rounder troika comprising Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard being far from their prime. The issues have crept in in the middle-order too, where neither Suryakumar Yadav nor Ishan Kishan has managed to emulate their performance from any of the last three seasons when they were impressive and consistent enough to warrant themselves a place in an overly-competitive Indian team.

Yadav is yet to score in double-digits in UAE, where his scores read: 3, 5, 8 and 0, while Kishan has been dropped twice this season after failing to do anything to improve his poor run running since the Indian leg of the tournament. Even though worries with their bowling department are not as severe, neither Jasprit Bumrah nor Trent Boult, who bagged a whopping 52 wickets combined last season, have been at their threatening best.

For the Capitals, the things are far more sorted (at least on paper): they need only one victory in their remaining three games to touch the official playoff qualification mark of 18 points. Their four-match winning streak running since the Indian leg of the tournament was broken in the last encounter against KKR, but on current form, they would back themselves to win at least one more league game.

Mumbai are beyond the point where they can afford any slip-ups but they would know that their Saturday rivals are the biggest challenge, not least because they come against Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad next – one unpredictable, the other glaringly out of form this season. But to that end, Capitals need to be wary too, for they face Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, both faring better than Mumbai this season. Sealing a playoff berth at the earliest won’t be a bad idea.

Pitch and conditions

If the batters are singing this looking at the Sharjah pitch, they can’t be blamed. In stark contrast to how the wicket played last year (average score 177), things have entirely changed in 2021. The average first innings score at the venue in four games this year has been 135, while the 150-mark has been crossed only once when CSK chased 156 against RCB in what was the first encounter at the venue in 2021. Another slow, spin-friendly track can be expected.

Playing combinations for MI vs DC

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai dropped Ishan Kishan against Punjab, bringing in Saurabh Tiwary. Much to the delight of the camp, Hardik Pandya showed a glimpse of form after a prolonged rut of low scores, slamming a 30-ball 40 to ease his team beyond the line.

There is a case for the inclusion of off-spinner Jayant Yadav in the side, given the abundance of left-handers – Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel – in the DC camp, although it remains to be seen if MI slot him in straight in a high-stakes game without having tried him so far in the UAE leg.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

Delhi Capitals

Steve Smith opened alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the last fixture owing to the absence of injured Prithvi Shaw, while Marcus Stoinis, who injured his hamstring a game before, missed out on his second in a row. It is unlikely either of them would be available.

Predicted XI: Steve Smith, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje/Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan

MI vs DC Head-to-Head

Overall

Played – 29 | Delhi Capitals– 13 | Mumbai Indians– 16 | N/R – 0

In the UAE

Played – 5 | Delhi Capitals– 1 | Mumbai Indians– 4 | N/R – 0

MI vs DC Broadcast Details

Match Timings – 3:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar

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