Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 168
Win percentage while batting first: 42.55%
Pitch Conditions:
- From the four matches played so far at this venue, teams batting second have recorded victories in three matches. This implies that the pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium has remained conducive for batting throughout and those who bat first, must put a big score on the board.
- Fast bowlers have a great wicket-share percentage of 66.97% compared to the spin bowlers at Sharjah, who have taken only 33.03% of the dismissals.
Weather prediction:
It will remain partly cloudy throughout the day on Saturday but the other weather elements will remain the same. The temperature will hit a high of 37°C during the day time and it will drop down to 33-34°C around the time of the sunset. The humidity level will be around 60% during the match hours.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 29
Mumbai Indians (MI) won: 16
Delhi Capitals (DC) won: 13
No result: –
Last 5 matches:
Mumbai Indians (MI) won: 4
Delhi Capitals (DC) won: 1
No result: –
Top 3 players from Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya
Top 3 players from Delhi Capitals (DC): Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Anrich Nortje
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Mumbai Indians (MI): Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah
Top 5 players from Delhi Capitals (DC): Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Anrich Nortje, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two teams who have excellent bowling attacks. While Mumbai Indians have the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Kieron Pollard and even Hardik Pandya — who is yet to bowl so far in Indian T20 2021, Delhi Capitals have some splendid bowling combinations in Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akshar Patel, and Anrich Nortje. On a small ground of Sharjah, the fast bowling attacks of both the teams will face an uphill task in order to contain the opposition batsmen, with each party looking to pile up runs on the board. For this contest, it will be wise to have additional batting strength for selecting fantasy cricket XI.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
It will be unfair to judge both the teams on the basis of being stronger and weaker given the fact that Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals played in the Indian T20 2020 final last year, and have some of the best squads that anyone can ever constitute on paper. Mumbai Indians are the defending champions this year, having won the title five times and despite their mixed performances so far in Indian T20 2021 they still aren’t out of the race for a spot in the playoffs. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals, who are placed second in the Indian T20 2021 points table, have done extremely well to remain consistent and among the top teams in the tournament for the second year running. But it still remains to be seen if they have enough fuel and fire in them to go all the way. Nevertheless, going by the current form and standing, Delhi certainly have an edge over Mumbai Indians in this contest.
MORE INFORMATION: The biggest development for Mumbai Indians in the previous match against Punjab Kings was the return to form of the star India all-rounder Hardik, who was able to finish the contest in the company of Pollard. Mumbai Indians’ opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock have been among runs, but it is perhaps time for them to try out any other batsman against Suryakumar Yadav, who has been horribly out of form, notching up single digit scores in a row. A promotion for Saurabh Tiwary will not be a bad idea either. Mumbai Indians require heavy victories from their last three matches — against Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad — in order to improve their overall figures in the Indian T20 2021 points table, hence this contrast becomes very interesting given the perspective of teams being involved in an intense battle for Indian T20 2021 players.
Players’ form: For Delhi Capitals, it is imperative for Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer to continue making the important runs that they are making in this tournament, and the same applies for the other batsmen in Steve Smith and Rishabh Pant in particular, who are vital cogs in the Delhi lineup. A controversy of sorts towards the end of the innings against Kolkata Knight Riders involving Ravichandran Ashwin has certainly given a lot of food for thought regarding the spirit of cricket, but Delhi Capitals will hope that the incident fires up the Indian all-rounder to bring out his best once again. For Mumbai Indians, Rohit and de Kock are the key batsmen as a strong partnership at the top will certainly ease out a lot of pressure from the shoulders of a misfiring middle order.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Mumbai Indians (MI): 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 (DC): Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
FANTASY XI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Anrich Nortje, Ravichandran Ashwin
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Mumbai Indians eye big win against last year’s finalists Delhi Capitals
The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians will be in search of a big win against one of the top teams in Indian T20 2021, the finalists of the last year’s edition whom they beat to win the title for the record fifth time, Delhi Capitals, in the Match No 46 of this year’s edition at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.
While these two teams proved to be the best sides of the Indian T20 last year, there has been a significant difference in their performances this edition. Delhi Capitals have been consistent right from the start and they are sitting pretty at the second spot in the Indian T20 2021 points table with 16 points in 11 matches, 8 wins and 3 defeats giving them a Net Run Rate of 0.562.
On the other hand, the perennial slow-starters of Indian T20 yet the tournament’s most successful and dominant team, Mumbai Indians are currently struggling at the 6th position with only 5 wins and 6 losses from 11 matches giving them 10 points and a negative NRR of -0.453.
Mumbai indians will have to be better in all departments as they seek a big win in each of their remaining three matches in the Indian T20 2021 league stage, in order to improve their NRR and along with it their chances of winning a spot in the final four for the knockouts round of the tournament.
Rohit and Quinton de Kock have been their main batsmen but the form of Saurabh Tiwary in the lower order has been really promising. The biggest headache for the Mumbai Indians will be the severe lack of runs for their star batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who has notched up a string of single-digit scores in the last few matches.
At the same time, Mumbai Indians will be pleased with the fact that their all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard were able to finish the chase against Punjab Kings, something that would have warmed them up well for the challenges ahead. But the form with the bat is a concern in the case of Krunal Pandya.
Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, will look to bounce back from their disappointing defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders. For two matches on the trot, Delhi batsmen have underperformed and their head coach in Ricky Ponting will be keen to address any slide in the form of their batting unit so close to the Indian T20 2021 playoffs.
The Rishabh Pant-led side will also be keen on setting their record alright against Mumbai Indians, who have trounced them with big margins in 4 out of their last 5 meetings, which also included a dominant win by 6 wickets in the final last year.
