Tonight's MI-Delhi IPL clash at Wankhede Stadium will have no shortage of stars and the possible Bumrah v Dhawan battle will be thrilling too
Mumbai Indians' Krunal (left) and Hardik Pandya in discussion with skipper Rohit Sharma during a practice session before today's match against Delhi Capitals at Wankhede on Saturday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Contests between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, have been a battle of equals with both teams winning 11 and losing 11 matches. Sure, it will be interesting to see which team does better in the head-to-head but there is one more battle worth witnessing — MI's pace ace Jasprit Bumrah v Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan.
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Mumbai bank on Bumrah
Three-time champions Mumbai Indians may have ended up in fifth position with only six wins in the last edition and failed to qualify for the knockouts, but Bumrah ensured MI did not miss Lasith Malinga. Bumrah's 17 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 6.88 enhanced his reputation as a death overs specialist. Bumrah will have a similar role for MI this time as well with Malinga not being available in the initial part of the T20 extravaganza.
Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan, who made a switch to Delhi Capitals after being with Sunrisers Hyderabad since the 2013 IPL, has given nightmares to plenty of IPL bowlers through his breathtaking strokeplay. He slammed 497 runs from 16 games for SRH at a strike rate of 136.91 last year. His battle with Bumrah will make for a tasty contest. Bumrah and Dhawan are, however, not the only match-winners in their respective sides. According to Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting, one cannot ignore young, talented players like their skipper Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant.
'Pant, Iyer aren't youngsters'
"I don't actually look at these guys as youngsters. Shreyas has been around for many IPLs, so he's not a youngster in this form of the game. Rishabh is not a youngster in this form of the game either. They might be young in age, but they're very experienced players in this format. Prithvi is obviously young, but I honestly feel that we've got a really good balance of youth and experience. Shikhar at the top, Ishant [Sharma] in the bowling, Colin Ingram in the middle-order and [Amit] Mishra," Ponting said on Saturday.
Bumrah's role as the leader of their bowling pack notwithstanding, MI are banking on fit-again all-rounder Hardik Pandya to go full throttle. "He [Hardik] is working really hard and is 200 per cent fit. He is actually too fit to be honest. We have been working on his skills for the last two weeks because that's something he hasn't been able to do. He is in very good space and is raring to go," said MI coach Mahela Jayawardene.
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