Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 180
Win percentage while batting first: 70%
Pitch conditions:
- The pitch at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai is expected to favour batsmen, with short boundaries making it easier to garner quick runs. The dew factor will also come into play in the second half of the game, which means that putting up a big first-innings total will be crucial for the team that bats first.
- Fast bowlers can be expected to dominate at the grand old venue in the cricket capital of India, which has been hosting top-flight cricket occasionally in recent years including the Indian T20 Cricket League.
- The Brabourne Stadium is close to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which means that both the venues can be expected to behave identically at least in the initial stages of the Indian T20 Cricket League when pitches are new and fresh.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright and sunny afternoon on Sunday in Mumbai with the temperature hitting a high of 30°C and remaining consistent throughout until around 8:00 PM local time, which is when the match should be over. The humidity levels will linger between 60-65%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 30
Delhi won: 14
Mumbai won: 16
No result: -
Top 3 players from Delhi: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur
Top 3 players from Mumbai: R Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah
Top picks for H2H/WTA conTest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Delhi: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Yash Dhull
Top 5 players from Mumbai: R Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Daniel Sams, Suryakumar Yadav
Q & A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
Mumbai and Delhi are two of the strongest teams in the Indian T20 Cricket League tournament and having undergone a massive overhaul with their squads during the mega auction in February this year, both teams will have a new look to their playing XIs. While Delhi have been able to replace like-for-like players in their squad, Mumbai will be looking to test their force and team combination given that regular players Hardik and Krunal Pandya are no more a part of the squad. Their absence also puts a lot of pressure and spotlight on Kieron Pollard, who formed a dangerous batting trioka with the Pandya brothers. With the match to be played at the Brabourne stadium — a venue which has short boundaries and a batting-friendly pitch — it will be wise to add more to the batting firepower while carrying plenty of fast bowling options since the pitch will be fresh and expected to carry fresh grass cover.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
On paper, it could be difficult to distinguish between Delhi and Mumbai who have plenty of exciting players in their ranks. But given that several of their players are currently busy with national duties such as David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Mustafizur Rahman and Lungi Ngidi to name a few, Delhi could be scrambling to put up a competitive playing XI. On the other hand, the challenge for Mumbai will be to bring out the best from their new and young players such as Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Anmolpreet Singh and Arjun Tendulkar to name a few, while also constantly deal with the absence of a quality spin bowler in their side. Keeping these factors in mind, at this point it is difficult as well as unfair to establish which team is stronger. That said, a fantasy player must not compromise with team balance and should pick strong options in the batting as well as fast bowling departments.
MORE INFORMATION: Delhi will be facing some degree of challenges to put up a competitive playing XI given that many of their players are not yet available. The opening batsman David Warner is currently in Pakistan with the Australian cricket team and will be available for his Indian T20 Cricket League team only after their first two matches. Delhi will also be without the services of Anrich Nortje, who is far from being fully fit despite linking up with the franchise earlier than expected. Similarly, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will be available for selection after the first three matches of Team Delhi, since he will be staying in Pakistan longer than Warner. While Mumbai will not be facing such an issue, they will be without their dream fast bowling combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, with the Barbadian English cricketer currently on a comeback trail after being sidelined due to an elbow injury for more than a year. Archer has recently started to train with the England team which is currently in the Caribbean, but he is expected to play for Mumbai only in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2023 season.
Players’ form: Both Delhi and Mumbai will look to pick up in terms of intensity and momentum at the start of the Indian T20 Cricket League tournament 2022. While Delhi do not have any major injury concerns and are only dealing with delayed arrival of their preferred players, Mumbai will be wary against slow starts that they traditionally make. The perennial slow starters of the tournament, Mumbai, last year missed out on a place in the knockouts just by one spot and a few points in the net run rate — something that they will look to address this year. That said, Mumbai have plenty of firepower in the form of Rohit, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Ishan Kishan and Bumrah along with Tymal Mills in the bowling department.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
DELHI: Prithvi Shaw, Mandeep Singh, Tim Seifert, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Kuldeep Yadav.
MUMBAI: R Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Tymal Mills, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah.
FANTASY XI: R Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Tim David, Daniel Sams, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Murugan Ashwin.
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Delhi, Mumbai set to renew old rivalry with fresh personnel
The most successful team of the Indian T20 Cricket League tournament Mumbai will begin their campaign in this year’s edition against one of the most promising sides that is yet to lift the title, in what will be the second match of the 15th season of the world’s biggest tournament at the grand old Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.
India teammates R Sharma and Rishabh Pant will be leading their respective teams Mumbai and Delhi in the second game of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022, with both the teams looking to draw early blood knowing that their paths could cross more than twice in this tournament like it has in the past.
As per the format announced by the governing council of the tournament, Delhi and Mumbai are slated to face off at least twice in the 70-match league round.
While Delhi had qualified for the knockout last year continuing their good performance witnessed in the previous few seasons, Mumbai had missed a berth in the final four as they failed to get their campaign going, and finished fifth.
For Delhi, the challenge would be to get favourable outcomes from matches in which they will be taking the field without their first-choice playing XI. The absence of Warner, M Marsh, Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman and even Nortje will be felt to a large extent and Delhi will hope that those players who get selected come good.
Delhi did well in the mega auction in February by picking star India all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who adds more to the value along with the likes of Axar Patel in the side, with Kuldeep Yadav being another spin bowling option. Among other Indian players, Delhi can pick from Khaleel Ahmed, Ashwin Hebbar, Kona Srikar Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Lalit Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Chetan Sakariya and India’s under-19 World Cup 2022 heroes Yash Dhull and Vicky Ostwal.
Delhi also have an exciting West Indies player in Rovman Powell, who showcased his talent against India in the limited-overs series held last month.
On the other hand, Mumbai will be expecting a lot from the likes of Fabian Allen, Anmolpreet Singh, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Daniel Sams, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar and 19-year-old aggressive batsman Tilak Varma.
Mumbai captain R Sharma has acknolwedged that most of his players do not have the experience of playing in the city which has three out of four venues for this year's tournament. The challenge and pressure will thus be multiple folds on a side which has in the past showcased the best recipe for success in the most unpredictable format of cricket.
Delhi and Mumbai have so far played 30 matches against each other and their bilateral record is one that tells that the upcoming contest between two of the biggest franchises are going to be as intense as ever, irrespective of the fact that there are changes in the squads and approach will also be different in the new season.
