IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians Eye Positive Start Against Rejigged Delhi Capitals

Mumbai Indians, the three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, will look to start their 2019 season on a positive note when they host a rejigged Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians won the IPL in 2013, 2015 and 2017, while Delhi Capitals have never played a final with their best being qualifying for IPL playoffs in 2012. However, the underdogs have made quite a few changes, including their name, for the 12th season of the IPL.

Delhi Capitals, formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, are led by Shreyas Iyer who took the reigns of the team last year after Gautam Gambhir stepped down as the skipper in the middle of the season.

Australia's batting legend Ricky Ponting will continue to coach the side, with support of assistant coach Mohammad Kaif and adviser Sourav Ganguly.

Having finished at the bottom of the points table last year, Delhi Capitals boast of a young local talent combined with seasoned campaigners for IPL 2019.

Experienced batsmen Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Ingram and Colin Munro will look to inspire promising young talent - Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra.

Ishant Sharma will lead the bowling attack along with vateren spinner Amit Mishra, all-rounder Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult. The New Zealander was the fifth-most wicket-taking bowler in IPL 2018 with 18 wickets in 14 matches.

However, Mumbai Indians look even stronger on paper with their batting line-up comprising captain Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis.

In the bowling department, the hosts bank on Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff and Mayank Markande.

The pair of all-rounder bothers Hardik and Krunal Pandya will be another sight to watch out for. While Hardik claimed 18 wickets in 13 matches and scored 260 runs, Krunal contributed with 12 wickets and 228 runs in 14 matches last season.

With the ICC World Cup 2019 approaching near, many players from both the teams, including Rohit, Dhawan, Pant, Bumrah and Hardik, will look to put their best foot forward in the two-month-long T20 extravaganza.

Teams (from):

Mumbai Indians: Yuvraj Singh, Lasith Malinga, Rohit Sharma (c), Kieron Pollard, Aditya Tare, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, Jayant Yadav, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Barinder Sran, Siddhesh Lad, Jasprit Bumrah, Pankaj Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy, Mayank Markande, Rasikh Salam

Delhi Capitals: Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Jalaj Saxena, Trent Boult, Harshal Patel, Chris Morris, Hanuma Vihari, Bandaru Ayyappa, Axar Patel, Ankush Bains, Shreyas Iyer (c), Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Rishabh Pant, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Prithvi Shaw, Manjot Kalra, Sherfane Rutherford

Match starts at 8 pm IST.

Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Delhi Capitals IPL 2019 Cricket Rohit Sharma Shikhar Dhawan Rishabh Pant Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, Match 3