MI desperate for victory

New Delhi: The Mumbai Indians (MI) will go all out against the Delhi DareDevils in their final league match of IPL XI on Sunday.

With 12 points from 13 matches, MI have no other choice but to beat the DareDevils. Any other result would end their aspirations for a play-off spot. They are at the fifth spot in the points table.

Rohit Sharma's boys have a simple plan - to go all out for a victory.

On Saturday, when MI's Suryakumar Yadav was asked about his team's chances, he said: "We are not thinking about that. Rather than thinking about the points table and the net run rate, we must think about the small things we can get right. We are focussed on winning the match."

The two-time champions find themselves in this position because of their poor run in the initial stage of the league. They did well to recover in the second half of the league but are far from being assured of a last four place.

Suryakumar said the pressure the team is under now, is the part of the game. "The game teaches you many things. This game is all about handling pressure. And if there is no pressure, then there is no fun," said the in-form MI batsman.

"It is the challenge that brings the best out of you. It will be a high pressure game tomorrow (Sunday), but we are ready for it," said Suryakumar.

Having scored 500 runs already in the IPL XI, Suryakumar is indeed a confident man. West Indian Evin Lewis has also done well, but they would certainly expect batsmen like Rohit Sharma or Kevin Pollard to do better.

The unpredictable nature of DareDevils' display could be the biggest challenge for the Mumbai franchise.

The home side could be out of the tournament and languishing at the bottom of the table, but they can be very good on their day, something MI learnt in the two teams' previous meeting.

DareDevils posed challenging totals against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad at home and yet lost both the matches. However, on Friday, they stopped the juggernaut of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings with some exceptionally good bowling.

A win will probably be enough for MI as they have a better net run rate than Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, the other contenders for for the lone play-off spot still available.

Match starts: 4 pm.