IPL 2015, Match 21, DD vs MI: Players to watch out for
In the lone encounter of Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, inconsistent Delhi Daredevils host troubled Mumbai Indians at Feroz Shah Kotla.
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New Delhi: In the lone encounter of Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, inconsistent Delhi Daredevils host troubled Mumbai Indians at Feroz Shah Kotla.
If Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai failed to live up to the expectations thus far, with a sole win in five matches, then Delhi too are struggling to win matches consistently.
Under South African skipper JP Duminy, Delhi have won two matches out of five they have played in the eighth edition of the league.
DD are certainly missing two premier bowlers in Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan. The former has been out of the tournament due to a knee injury, whereas the later hasn't been fit enough to play.
Two players who have performed consistently for Delhi are Duminy – who is emerging as a true all-rounder for the team – and his compatriot Imran Tahir – who has carried his World Cup form into the IPL. But their batsmen have to show some consistency in their performance to seal matches for the side.
Mumbai, on the other end, too are missing the services of swashbuckling opener Aaron Finch, who is out of the tournament due to hamstring injury. And now they will miss another sparkling all-rounder in Corey Anderson, who was ruled out of the entire season due to a fractured finger.
Now the onus rests on seasoned campaigners like Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma.
Marred with injuries, both teams will look for a win in today's tie to get back into winning momentum.
Players to watch out for
JP Duminy: The South African has showed his all-round skills while leading the DD franchise. One half-century and innings of 44 (not out) and 21 show his consistency with the bat. With the help of his slow off-spins, he has also picked seven wickets. In fact, his standout performance with the ball came in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he bagged four wickets in just three overs to seal the victory for his side. Once again, the all-rounder has to come good with the both bat and ball to add two more points in DD's kitty.
Kieron Pollard: The Trinidadian all-rounder has been an integral part of the Mumbai side. He has single-handedly won many matches for his side. This season too his big hitting skills were on display against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, when he scored 70 and 64 respectively. Now in the absence of hard-hitters like Anderson and Finch, the West Indian has to take the responsibility on his big shoulders to perform with the bat and ball in today's tie.