Last year’s finalists Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals will play each other in the thirteenth match of the IPL 2021. Both the teams have won two out of their three matches and although Capitals are sitting ahead of MI in the points table due to better net runrate these are early days in the season. However, both the teams have given the indication that they can go the full distance and may again end up playing the final like last year.
Jasprit Bumrah
Delhi Capitals can claim to have one of the best opening partnerships in the tournament. Interestingly before the start of the tournament both Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan was looked like they will not be part of India’s squad for T20 World Cup. However, both made a strong comeback to form and Shikhar Dhawan is currently the owner of the Orange Cap. Shaw also looked like a different player compared to last season and playing some brilliant shots. To stop these two openers and get them dismissed early, MI will look to their talismanic fast bowler Jashprit Bumrah. Bumrah had a great start to the tournament. He already has 3 wickets from as many matches and maintained an economy rate below 6. Mumbai will expect him to provide them a good start as well bowl in the deaths against the finishers like Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis. A great spell from Bumrah can change the fate of the game any time.
Kagiso Rabada
Like Bumrah, Delhi Capitals also have one of World’s best fast bowlers in Kagiso Rabada. Rabada vs Bumrah will be a fascinating view in this match. Rabad did not play the first match due to Covid-19 related restriction but in the two matches since then, he played both and picked up three wickets. He is slightly expensive with an economy rate of 9.12. One key reason for Rabada’s higher economy rate is that the Capitals management are using him mostly at the middle and death overs. There is an ongoing debate regarding whether Rabada to bowl in the Powerplay against the Mumbai top order of Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Suriya Kumar Yadav. Keeping in mind the batting strength of Mumbai, Capitals team management needs to identify the best overs for Rabada to bowl to get the best out of him. With support from Chrsi Woakes and Avesh Khan, Rabada will look to focus on certain batters from Mumbai to look to get them out cheaply.
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