The Great Game Called Cricket...

Big Picture


Delhi Daredevils have somehow managed to get into a tight spot. After reeling off four successive wins, they misfired against two relatively weak sides to be left competing with the midfield runners in the race to the semi-finals. Gautam Gambhir's men will be desperate to reverse their losing run against Mumbai Indians, since the margin for error is minimal leading into their final set of league games.



All of Delhi's three remaining matches are against teams that defeated them in the first half of the tournament. A win against Mumbai, besides taking them to second place, will give them confidence and some elbow-room, while defeat could put them into sudden-death mode. For a side that made it to the last four without any fuss in the previous editions, that will be a tough situation to handle.

Mumbai are at the other end of the spectrum: Having virtually reached the semis for the first time in three years, they now have a few games to perfect themselves ahead of the knockout stage. They were surprised twice in their last three matches and, on each occasion, their batting struggled when Sachin Tendulkar failed. The young Indians manning the top order - Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary - have shown class but not consistency, and Sanath Jayasuriya's indifferent IPL continued against Rajasthan. In his current form, Tendulkar is capable of taking Mumbai all the way on his own, but it is in his team's best interests to prepare for every eventuality.


Form guide (most recent first)


Mumbai Indians WLLWW
Delhi Daredevils LLWWW


Team talk


Given Mumbai's position and the impending World Twenty20, both Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga rightfully deserve breathers. It is unlikely that Mumbai will risk benching both of them in the same match and, depending on who sits out, either Dhawal Kulkarni or Ryan McLaren can expect to play. Jayasuriya has struggled around for 33 runs in four matches and Dhawan deserves to reclaim the opening spot. Can Dwayne Bravo, a match-winner when he gets going, find a way back into the side?


Delhi are unlikely to make any changes despite losing their last game. Ashish Nehra should hold his spot, and so should Mithun Manhas ahead of Kedar Jadhav.


Previously…


Mumbai 2, Delhi 3
When these sides clashed earlier this year, Tendulkar and Tiwary smashed their way to a mammoth 218, which the hosts fell well short of on a Kotla pitch that slowed to a crawl under lights. Thankfully for Delhi, their bowling combination is now quite different to the one that was plundered in that game.


In the spotlight


Virender Sehwag knows he is due for a match-winning innings and must be itching to go after Mumbai's strong pace attack. Without being even close to his best, he has been Delhi's best batsman this year, and a Sehwag-special can seal the issue in a matter of overs. Mumbai have used Harbhajan Singh as a striking weapon with the new ball and if these two face off, expect sparks to fly.



It will take a brave man to bet against another Tendulkar show, and Gambhir will have to be spot on with his plans against him. Twice in three games, spin has contributed to his fall and Gambhir's best bet may be to let his in-form slow men - Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori - have a go at him.


Prime numbers



•Zaheer, Malinga and Harbhajan hold the 5th, 6th and 8th spots in the race for the purple cap, and have 38 wickets between them. No other team has more than two bowlers in the top-ten


•Sehwag's 170.52 is the best strike-rate among the top ten run-scorers in the tournament


•Malinga is the only bowler with two entries in the top ten bowling performances of the tournament, with 4 for 22 against Kings XI Punjab and 3 for 12 against Deccan Chargers


The chatter


"I personally would prefer to play away matches as a batsman and bowler."
Facing up to Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium, one wonders if this is what Gautam Gambhir was asking for



"I better make sure I keep scoring fifties."
Sachin Tendulkar knows a winning formula when he sees one.