Mumbai Indians (MI) will be playing their last match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It will be the penultimate game of the league stage of the season. The Rohit Sharma-led side has nothing to lose as they are already knocked out of the race for the playoffs, but they will be looking to test their bench strength in consideration of the future.
MI has played some good cricket in the last few games and will be looking to sign off with a victory in what has been a disappointing season for them. On the other hand, this will be an important fixture for the Delhi Capitals who still have a chance to make it to the playoffs. The Rishabh Pant-led side registered a good win against Punjab Kings in their last encounter without the services of Prithvi Shaw.
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A win in the upcoming fixture would be enough for them to go past Royal Challengers Bangalore (RC) because of the superior net run rate. Shaw is expected to make the playing XI if he gets fit, in place of Sarfaraz Khan. In the 31 meetings between the two sides in IPL so far, MI is leading the charts 16-15 against DC in the head-to-head battles. In the last 5 meetings, however, it’s 3-2 in favor of DC.
Ahead of the marquee IPL 2022 clash at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, here’s a look at the player battles to watch out for.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah vs Rishabh Pant
Jasprit Bumrah has had the better of DC skipper Rishabh Pant in all of their IPL encounters. The former has dismissed Pant the most number of times in T20 cricket – six in 12 innings. Pant has failed to score runs consistently this season. He scored 309 runs from 13 matches at an average of 30.10 and a strike rate of 157.59. Bumrah had an equally successful run, grabbing 12 wickets with the ball.
#2 Ishan Kishan vs Shardul Thakur
One of the more exciting Indian batters in recent times against a player who’s had a steady rise to the top as a bowling allrounder, the Ishan Kishan vs Shardul Thakur contest makes for an intriguing one. Kishan was the most-expensive player during the IPL 2022 Auction, but he has failed to deliver the promise, while Thakur has been taking wickets in the last few games.
#3 Kieron Pollard vs Khaleel Ahmed
It will be a lopsided IPL 2022 contest if the big-hitting Windies star gets going. Khaleel Ahmed was one of the young names impressing in the IPL circuit, picking up 16 wickets in the season so far. Up against the five-time champions, Khaleel will look to get off to a good start and what better than dismissing a big name.
