With a solitary win from five games in IPL 2015, Mumbai Indians have struggled in the T20 tournament, and now they gear-up for an important clash on Thursday against the Delhi Daredevils.
DD have also not been very impressive, as they have only registered two wins from their five matches. They are in the fifth place in the IPL standings, while MI lie seventh.
Despite possessing some of the biggest players of world cricket, MI have not been able to deliver the goods consistently. With the Rohit Sharma-led side languishing near the bottom in the initial stages of the tournament, they need to get back to form if they are to pose a serious challenge for the IPL title this season.
Here is a look at two key players from both the IPL franchises ahead of the match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma – The Indian opener has played some great innings in the competition, but the team has not been able to take advantage of his batting heroics. But, his last innings of 42 runs from 15 balls against RCB did not go down the drain as they registered their first victory. He has amassed a total of 190 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 161.01 with a highest score of 98 not out. The Indian seems to have found his perfect spot in the middle order with Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel at the top of the order.
Harbhajan Singh – The Mumbai Indians spinner has been in great form of late and has taken crucial wickets in the competition. In a format where spinners can be easily belted around the park, Harbhajan has stood tall, taking eight wickets in the competition so far with a healthy average of 16.12. Apart from his bowling, he is no mug with the bat either, as he played a great innings against the Kings XI Punjab, scoring 64 runs.
Delhi Daredevils
JP Duminy – The DD skipper has led the team from the front with both bat and ball in the tournament, as he has taken eight wickets with his more than handy off breaks. But, it is his batting skills which creates fear amongst opponents. He handles both the spinners as well as the pacers with ease and can clear the fence when required as well. With DD possessing attacking players such as Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Matthews, duminy is required to steady the ship and he has done that with good effect.
Imran Tahir – The South African has bamboozled batsmen in the competition with his trickery. He has taken 10 wickets. Primarily, Tahir's wrong one, which turns quite a bit has been the wicket taking delivery for the leggie. During the middle overs of the game, Tahir has bowled some tight overs and pressurised the batsman to play some false shots. With MI possessing a number of clean strikers, Tahir needs to be at the top of his game.
