Delhi Daredevils (DD) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) in match no. 21 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Satdium in New Delhi on Thursday.
DD, having bounced back after their first two losses of the IPL, were compeletely outplayed by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in their last game. They have managed to win only two out of their five matches.
Meanwhile, MI ended their losing streak and earned two points on the points table. They will look to carry on with the momentum in this match.
Earlier on Thursday, they suffered a big blow as their star all-rounder Corey Anderson was ruled out of the rest of the IPL due to a fractured finger. They will have to re-work their balance and get their basics right in order to win this match.
Here are some of the key clashes from this match:
Shreyas Iyer vs Lasith Malinga: Iyer has been Delhi's best batsman so far and does not hold himself back while playing his shots. He has come in handy at the top of the order alongside the other youngster Mayank Agarwal. Malinga has been scratchy right from the start of this edition of IPL. He has to be on a song and work on his economy rate.
Rohit Sharma vs Imran Tahir: Sharma is the one of the best batsmen in the MI line-up. He is also their highest run getter in the tournament so far and he needs to pile up some more runs. Tahir on the other hand, is Delhi's highest wicket taker and is a difficult customer to score off. He bowls quickly through the air and his wrong ones can be very deceptive.
Yuvraj Singh vs Harbhajan Singh: Yuvraj needs to shine with the bat in the middle order and shape the innings for DD. He has not fared well so far in this tournament, apart from a gritty half century against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Harbhajan had a poor start to the tournament against KKR, but ever since then, has bowled well and has worked on his line and length. He is MI's highest wicket taker and these two players have shared the nets a number of times in the past. An interesting encounter is up for the grab.
Lendl Simmons vs Amit Mishra: Simmons replaced Aaron Finch who went back to Australia because of an injury. He played a good knock against RCB and will look to bring that momentum to this match. Mishra on the other hand, is a crafty leggie and bowls slow through the air, unlike Tahir. His variations are hard to pick and he can be equally dangerous with his googlies.
DD will look to change their fortunes at home and Mumbai Indians will look to register their first win over the Daredevils in Delhi after 2011.
