Delhi Away: Capitals looking for first win

New Delhi (Uttam Hindu News): David Warner’s Delhi Capitals will look for their first win in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season when they take on Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday.

Mumbai has also lost in its first two matches, but some of its players have been seen performing well at different times. Delhi, on the other hand, are reeling off a hat-trick of defeats and are saddled with poor form and injury concerns.

Opener Prithvi Shaw has failed to read the fast bowlers in the three matches so far. His partner David Warner has scored fifties in all the three matches, but his poor strike rate could only be a reason for Delhi’s defeat.

Mitchell Marsh, who bats at number three, has returned to Australia for some time due to personal reasons. Delhi brought Manish Pandey to bat in his place in the last match but he could also contribute to the total of zero runs.

Increasing the run rate in the middle overs has been Delhi’s biggest concern. Riley Russo, who joined the franchise this season, has not been able to make any significant contribution so far. Young wicket-keeper batsman Abhishek Porel showed aggression on his debut against Gujarat Titans, though he will need to spend a little more time on the wicket.

Where the Delhi batsmen have failed to score big, the bowlers have also not been able to put pressure on the opposition team. Even though Delhi can somehow control the run rate in the middle overs, the weaknesses of their bowling become evident in the last overs.

Fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed may be ruled out of the match against Mumbai due to a hamstring injury. If Khaleel is not fully fit before the match, then Delhi can include Chetan Sakaria in the XI in his place.

On the other hand, five-time champions Mumbai will also be waiting to open their account in the points table with their first win. Mumbai, who seemed unstoppable in IPL 2020, have failed to make it to the playoffs for the last three seasons. Jasprit Bumrah’s injury has already been a major concern for them, Jofra Archer may also be ruled out for some part of the tournament due to an elbow problem.

With the poor form of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai’s batting is largely dependent on Tilak Verma. If Mumbai want to get two points by registering a win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, then their batsmen will have to perform jointly.

Delhi coach Ricky Ponting had said after the defeat against Rajasthan Royals that his team needed to introspect. To what extent Delhi was able to carry out this introspection and what was its result, it will be known on Tuesday.