Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday in their 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener. It promises to be an exciting match with both sides looking formidable heading into the season, but the hosts will want to make a statement with a strong showing in front of the vociferous home fans. The three-time champions will want their title back and have roped in quality overseas players as well as aspiring young domestic talents in the auction to do just that.

Head-to-Head record
11-11

From the MI dugout

The big news all Rohit Sharma and MI fans were waiting for came earlier this week with the Hitman confirming that he’ll be opening the innings for Mumbai this year. South African Quinton de Kock is another individual who is bang in form at the moment, but it will be interesting to see where he bats with last year’s opening duo of Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav also in contention.

Further down the order, the onus will be on the likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting and Kieron Pollard to provide the ammunition for strong finishes with the bat. Yuvraj Singh is another individual who will be expected to use his experience to guide the team during the middle and slog orders.

The bowling department will be spearheaded by Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah. McClenaghan’s knack for picking up wickets in the first six overs and Bumrah’s ability at the death perfectly complement each other. A lot is also expected of wrist spinner Mayank Markande, who picked up 15 wickets last season. He along with Ishan Kishan and Anmolpreet Singh are just few of the youngsters in the squad who will want to leave a mark on the tournament.

Key player

South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock is enjoying his batting at present and he will go into the tournament with a lot of confidence. He has five fifty plus scores in his last six ODIs for South Africa, including a century against Sri Lanka. The powerful left-hander can take the game away from his former side on Sunday, if he continues his purple patch.

From the DC dugout

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have a decent top order that can trouble any team on their day. Shikhar Dhawan is the most experienced domestic top-order batsman in the team with Shreyas Iyer captaining the side. Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant will also want to make an impression with the bat for Delhi this season in what looks like a top-heavy top-order. Their overseas batsmen include Colin Munro and Colin Ingram; both of whom are yet to make their mark in the IPL.

The Capitals do have a variety of bowling options with Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada being their most experienced pace bowlers. Their spin department boasts the likes of Axar Patel and Amit Mishra, who will be entrusted to contain batsmen and break partnerships in the middle order. Mishra has always been a threat in the IPL having taken 134 wickets in the tournament, which is second on the chart for leading wicket-takers in the league, behind only our very own Lasith Malinga, who has 154 IPL scalps to his name.

Key player

The Delhi camp have massive expectations from Rishabh Pant this year and they are confident about the young Indian wicketkeeper living up to the billing. Already established in the Indian Test side, Pant will be targeting a spot in India’s World Cup squad knowing that strong performances in the IPL will strengthen his case.

With the Wankhede pitch characteristically expected to aid the batsmen, we should be in for an exciting and high-scoring encounter. You can watch the action from 8 PM IST on Sunday, 24th March.