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Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Delhi Daredevils (DD), IPL 2016, Match 47 at Visakhapatnam, Preview: Zaheer Khan and co. aim to secure spot in playoffs

Mumbai Indians are set to hosts Delhi Daredevils in Match 47 of IPL 2016 at Visakhapatnam.

Delhi Daredevils will want to secure their spot in playoffs after a win this match © AFP
Delhi Daredevils will want to secure their spot in playoffs after a win this match © AFP

In Match 47 of the ninth season of Indian Premier League (IPL)Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. The fact that both the teams are sharing the same points makes it a crucial fight that will result in changes in the top four spots of the IPL 2016 points table. However, DD are in a better position looking at the fact that they have one match more to play than the MI brigade. While DD have done exceptionally well to be considered among the potential winners, the defending champions have entirely let their fans down. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2016, Match 47 at Visakhapatnam

It has been a trend for the Mumbai-based franchise to get a slow start and pick up momentum later towards the tournament; but this time, it looks like it’s too late to change things to get through to the Playoffs. The team has put up individual performances but failed to perform as a cohesive unit. Their bowling attack boasts of Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee. However, the performance has not been up to the mark. One thing that has ruined the sharp attack is their poor fielding. On the contrary, captain Rohit Sharma has been terrific on the field, throwing himself on the ball every time it is in the same frame as him.

The team’s batting also looks to be attractive enough but that too failed to put up winning performances. The skipper himself had a brilliant time in limited-over format in Australia and is doing the same for the team with his personal score in the format being 428 so far. However, he failed to deliver equally in all the matches. The only MI batter who has been consistent with the willow is Ambati Rayudu, who has been terrifically anchoring the innings. Team’s middle order looks better than its top, with Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya contributing good runs. Harhajan Singh is another name that the team looks at for last-minute hitting. Coming from a defeat, it will be a challenge for them to get back to winning ways and change the scenario.

DD skipper Zaheer Khan has been phenomenal, with both performance and captaincy. Zaheer built up the team spirit well by utilising his limited resources in batting and bowling very skilfully. The team, though has gone through ups and downs in the tournament, has still managed to maintain itself among the top four.

The team’s batting line-up looks a bit unbalanced. With Quinton de Kock at the top—who has been the best performer for them so far— young guns Mayank Agarwal and Sanju Samson have batted reasonably well at the top order. The middle order looks rather strong with the likes of JP Duminy, Karun Nair and Chris Morris. The bowling attack looks lethal with the skipper himself leading it. Zaheer has stunned the spectators with his performance at this point of his age and surely has a lot more cricket in him left after he bids goodbye to international cricket.

Morris has been in a good form, while Amit Mishra has been highly effective with his spin. JP Duminy plays the experienced all-rounder and stand-in captain. Nonetheless, Mohammed Shami has been on the expensive side; but he can provide impetus, given the talent he possesses. The team outplayed the table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last match even without their skipper Zaheer, and this will definitely be a confidence booster for the boys.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Martin Guptill, Kieron Pollard, Tim Southee, Vinay Kumar, Jos Buttler, Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell McClenaghan, Unmukt Chand, Marchant de Lange, Akshay Wakhare, Corey Anderson, Nitish Rana, Siddhesh Lad, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Gopal, Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Punia, Suchith, Kishore Kamath, Nathu Singh, Krunal Pandya.

Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan (c), Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami, Saurabh Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock (wk), Pawan Negi, Chris Morris, Sanju Samson, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Sam Billings, Chama Milind, Pratyush Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Saeed Khaleel Ahmed, Akhil Herwadkar, Pawan Suyal, Joel Paris

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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