FANTASY
Follow UsA confident Mumbai Indians (MI) will look to pile more misery on an ailing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side when they face off in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday. Sacking David Warner from his role as the captain, followed by his axing, did not help SRH as they succumbed to a 55-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the last game. The bottom-placed team will now take on a rejuvenated Mumbai Indians who have won back-to-back games, including a record chase against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.
In the IPL, the two teams have clashed on 17 occasions with MI slightly ahead with nine victories. Mumbai has also won four off their last five matches. However, SRH has won 60% of their matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where Mumbai has lost 7 of their 16 matches played at the venue.
IPL HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall - Matches – 17 | Mumbai – 9 Wins | Hyderabad – 8 Wins
Last five games – Mumbai – 4 Wins | Hyderabad – 1 Win
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team.
Ground Details and Team Combination
Since 2019, pacers have excelled at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in T20s, claiming 70 of the 123 wickets taken at the venue. However, spinners have a better strike rate of 21.6 and a better economy of 7.5. The pitch has heavily favoured the pacers in IPL 2021, as they have claimed 25 wickets, 16 more than spinners, from four matches. In the batting-friendly conditions, pacers have a slightly better economy of 9.4 compared to that 9.4 for spinners this season.
There could be some interesting matchups too.
Mumbai’s top wicket-taker Rahul Chahar has come out trumps against Jonny Bairstow in the two innings they have faced off so far. Chahar has dismissed Bairstow twice in those clashes conceding just four runs from eight balls. Bairstow, who is SRH’s top scorer this season with 248 runs, will be wary of the wily leg-spinner when they clash.
After leading MI to a stunning victory against CSK with an unbeaten 87, oppositions will be careful approaching Kieron Pollard. SRH has the perfect weapon in the form of Rashid Khan to counter the big hitter. The Afghan leggie has given away just 24 runs from 37 balls in nine innings he faced Pollard, who has a dot-ball percentage of 50 against spin this season.
Captain Selection
Batsmen have dominated at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this year as the average score in 2021 standing at 195. In such conditions, it is invaluable to have a bowler like Rashid Khan who has the best economy of 6.14 among bowlers who have played more than three matches this season. He has been impressive at the Arun Jaitley Stadium claiming five wickets in as many innings with an economy of 6.85.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Khan could pick 1-2 wickets in this match.
X-Factors
Manish Pandey
David Warner’s exclusion saw Pandey open the innings alongside Bairstow against Rajasthan where he did well with a brisk 20-ball 31. The Karnataka batsman has scored 770 runs from 28 innings as an opener, including a century for RCB against Deccan Chargers in 2009. Pandey can be a great addition considering SRH’s tweaked line-up.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Pandey could score 32-48 runs in this match.
Quinton de Kock
has been a reliable opening partner alongside Rohit Sharma for MI this season, with an average of 31 from the six games he has played. The South African has also enjoyed batting at Delhi as he has scored 300 runs from 11 innings, including five 30-plus scores.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts De Kock could score 27-41 runs in this match.
Trent Boult
has been one of the consistent performers for MI at the death. Despite conceding heavily, Boult is capable of picking up wickets every 11 balls in the final five overs. His record at Delhi has been impressive as he picked up 17 wickets from 12 T20s at a striking every 16 balls.
Our Criclytics player projector predicts Boult could pick 0-1 wickets in this match.
