MI vs DC, IPL 2022 preview: It’s do-or-die for Delhi Capitals in playoff hopes – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Delhi Capitals take on Mumbai Indians in their last league encounter of IPL 2022 on Saturday with a playoff spot at stake. Five-time champions Mumbai are out of reckoning, but DC need a win on the night to make it to the playoffs.

Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants have already qualified as the top three teams. Currently, RCB occupy the fourth spot with 16 points from 14 matches, but they have an inferior net run rate to DC who can leapfrog Bangalore in the table just by beating Mumbai despite it only taking them to 16 points. Mumbai don’t have anything to lose and that should make things difficult for Delhi.

DC will reach playoffs if they beat Mumbai Indians. Sportzpics

Star watch

Rohit Sharma

The Mumbai captain is the fourth-highest run-getter for his team this season and that speaks for why MI have failed to reach the playoff. One of the best batters going around, opener Rohit Sharma constantly failed at the start of the tournament. With runs not coming from the top order, Mumbai were rarely in the reckoning in most of their matches.

They have only won three out of 13 matches this season. Rohit did score a 36-ball 48 in MI’s last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. And would hope to build on that as he gets ready for national team challenges.

Rishabh Pant

Known for his game-changing batting, Rishabh Pant hasn’t lived up to his billing in this IPL. He has 301 runs from 13 matches at a strike rate of 157.59 but those returns are not quite close to what was expected from him at the start of the season. However, the Mumbai game provides Rishabh one more opportunity to help his team reach the playoffs but also significantly bump his batting stats.

Uncapped watch

Arjun Tendulkar

The all-rounder is still to play an IPL match despite being with the Mumbai franchise for some time. Mumbai are out of IPL 2022 and have offered opportunities to a lot of young players including Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya. Still, the son of the great Sachin Tendulkar has somehow not found a place in the playing XI. All eyes will be on Mumbai’s teamsheet on Saturday to see if the left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar finally gets to make his debut or not.

Sarfaraz Khan

With Prithvi Shaw still being out of action, DC opted for Sarfaraz Khan to open in their previous game against Punjab Kings and the move clicked as the Mumbai batter scored 32 off 16 to help his side win by 17 runs. There is still no news on whether Shaw, who recently returned from the hospital after being treated for typhoid, will play against MI or not. In a do-or-die battle, DC mostly would have to pick Sarfaraz again and the youngster would have another chance to make some headlines.

Quotes section 

It’s been an up and down season for us, but we’ve played some good cricket. I always talk about playing our best cricket at the business end of the tournament and peaking at the right time. I’ve got a feeling that the boys are about to do that. — Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals coach.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, IPL Live Score, IPL 2022 schedule, IPL 2022 Points table and Entertainment News. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.