Virender Sehwag will be the man to watch out for when Delhi Daredevils take on league leaders Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Virender Sehwag will be the man to watch out for when Delhi Daredevils take on league leaders Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.The Delhi skipper has kept his team’s playoff hopes alive with his buccaneering innings against Deccan Chargers on Thursday night in Hyderabad. He smacked a 56-ball 119 as Delhi chased a stiff 176-run target with one over to spare.
Delhi would be hoping for a similar performance from their skipper even as Mumbai will look to seal their berth in the last four round. Sehwag’s pyrotechnics against Deccan not only earned his side a fantastic come-from-behind win, but also earned him the Orange Cap, which has been with his Mumbai counterpart Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag so far has scored 422 in 10 matches.
But Tendulkar (351 runs) would be eager to snatch it back from Sehwag’s head when the game gets underway. Tendulkar’s mini battle for top honours with Sehwag would provide yet another fascinating facade in the high-octane clash in front of a packed gathering under lights.
The Delhi think-tank benched regular opener David Warner on Thursday, but with Aaron Finch misfiring yet again, the diminutive Australian is expected to take his place back in the playing eleven on Saturday.
It’s imperative that Sehwag and Warner (254 runs from nine games) fire in unison against the top-class Mumbai attack led by Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh to provide Delhi any chance of an upset victory. By virtue of their victory over Deccan, the Daredevils now occupy the eighth position in the 10-team table with eight points, and a defeat against Mumbai would almost certainly knock them out of contention for the next stage of the tournament.
Going into the match, Delhi would like to forget their previous tie at home against Mumbai when Sehwag was run-out for 19 and they eventually got shot down for a paltry 95 in less than 18 overs. The eight-wicket defeat set off their campaign on the wrong note, especially at their fortress — Feroz Shah Kotla — where they have tasted defeats in all but one out of six matches this season.
Delhi’s away campaign has provided them three wins, the lone defeat coming against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur. Their earlier visit to the metropolis also ended in victory when they chased down Pune Warriors’ high total of 187 with three wickets to spare at the DY Patil Stadium.
Delhi’s bowling attack looks almost fuller now with James Hopes and Ajit Agarkar offering good support to pace spearhead Morne Morkel. Tendulkar and his men are sitting pretty atop the table with 14 points from nine games, and a victory against Delhi would thus ensure Mumbai an entry into the last four stage.
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