IPL 2020 finalists Delhi Capitals and five-time champions Mumbai Indians will be playing against each other in their campaign opener in IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday afternoon. (FULL SCHEDULE)
There has already been a lot of fuss about Mumbai Indians’ home advantage but MI too will have to adapt to the pitches of Maharashtra, courtesy the shuffling of players in team due to IPL auction 2022.
Talking about the role of their captain, Rohit Sharma is a proven leader and Mumbai Indians would hope a similar performance from him as he has been doing for years for the franchise.
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MI have retained their core team by securing Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard ahead of IPL auction 2022 and by paying a whopping INR 15.25 crore for Ishan Kishan.
On the other hand, Rishabh Pant still has to prove himself as captain. Delhi Capitals failed to qualify for the final despite ending as table-topper last year.
Pant's captaincy skills will be tested more this season as two new teams have also joined the marquee event and there have also been changes in the DC squad.
DC retained Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, and Anrich Nortje, while they secured the services of star players David Warner and Shardul Thakur from IPL auction 2022.
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TEAM NEWS
Delhi Capitals: Anrich Nortje will miss the match against MI. He is expected to start playing for DC in the first week of April. Meanwhile, David Warner is another player who has not joined the team yet. He is playing for Australia in Pakistan.
Mumbai Indians: The side will miss the services of batting mainstay Suryakumar Yadav, who is undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians have played 30 IPL matches against each other so far. MI lead the head-to-head record with 16 wins, while DC are just two behind them. The last game between the sides that took place in Sharjah was won by the Delhi Capitals by a 4-wicket margin.
VENUE AND PITCH
Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians game on Sunday takes place at the Brabourne Stadium. The pitch is of red soil which means the surface will have a good bounce and will aid fast bowlers. Meanwhile, it also suggests that the venue will also witness high-scoring games.
SQUADS (from)
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c), Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal.
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Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Fabian Allen, Anmolpreet Singh, Arshad Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Basil Thampi, Dewald Brevis, Rahul Buddhi, Jasprit Bumrah, Tim David, Ishan Kishan (wk), Aryan Juyal (wk), Mayank Markande, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Kieron Pollard, Ramandeep Singh, Daniel Sams, Sanjay Yadav, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
Delhi Capitals
Prithvi Shaw: Backlash from the public on his fitness issues and then his cryptic post after that, Prithvi Shaw will definitely try to give a direct answer from his bat.
Rishabh Pant: The southpaw was already a dangerous batsman but his developing maturity is just making him a better player with every match. It will be interesting to see his batting number and role in IPL 2022.
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Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma: The third-highest run-scorer in IPL history has been the backbone of Mumbai Indians’ batting line-up. His captaincy skills will go under test once again as he has to manage a new-look squad.
Ishan Kishan: Whether admitted or not, but the pressure of price tag must be in the mind of the flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman. He will surely going to be the cynosure of all eyes for the amount of trust and money MI have put on him.
Jasprit Bumrah: He is another reliable player not only for the franchise but for every team he plays. Bumrah’s stats fail to describe him as the bowler is far more than that. He will be having Jaydev Unadkat with him in the pace attack and it will be really interesting to see how he guides the fast bowler to yield better results for his team.
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WHERE TO WATCH LIVE
The Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians can be seen live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada, Star Sports 1 Bangla, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. Disney+ Hotstar will live stream the Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians encounter from 7:30 PM IST.
