The quality and variety in the bowling attacks of the Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians will go up against each other when the two teams meet in New Delhi on Saturday.
If Mumbai boast of Jasprit Bumrah, the best in the business, Delhi can flaunt Lungi Ngidi, the most improved and most impressive white-ball bowler of recent times. To counter Mumbai’s Trent Boult, Delhi have the precision of Mukesh Kumar and T. Natarajan. And if Delhi think they have a trump card in Kuldeep Yadav, Mumbai have Mitchell Santner, who’s not only an effective spinner but can also hit sixes with the bat.
With such strong bowling attacks, it’s obvious that it will be a test of the batters from both sides. It is here that Mumbai can claim a definite advantage, as they have the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav in their ranks. It’s not that Delhi are weak on batting, they have KL Rahul, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and the rising Sameer Rizvi; but their top order struggled in their opening game before Rizvi played the rescue act.
In the pre-match media conference, Delhi’s Kuldeep, however, claimed that it was not yet the time for them to hit the panic button. “It was the first game, obviously you want a good start but sometimes it doesn’t happen.”
True, but the IPL doesn’t offer you much time.