New Delhi, April 26 (IANS): Having suffered two defeats in their last three matches, an inconsistent Mumbai Indians have their task cut out if they are to make the Play-offs of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 when they face a confident Delhi Capitals in an afternoon game at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.

The last time these two teams met in the tournament, Mumbai made a massive 234/5 at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7 and managed to restrict Delhi to 205/8 for securing a 29-run win, their first of the competition.

But Mumbai come into Saturday’s game on the back of suffering a nine-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur and find themselves at the eighth place. A win against Delhi will set the base for their late revival in the competition, something which is now their hallmark. On the other hand, Delhi will be playing their third straight game at their real home ground, where another run-fest would be in the offering at a stadium with short square boundaries.

The sixth-placed Delhi have a lot of confidence after surviving a late scare from Rashid Khan and David Miller to beat Gujarat Titans by four runs on Wednesday. Another win at home will keep them in contention in an intense race to enter the playoffs.

Their batting charge has been led by captain Rishabh Pant, who is making big strides with every passing game about finding his vintage best with bat and gloves, as seen from his magnificent 88 not out against Gujarat on Wednesday. DC were also helped by Axar Patel’s promotion to No.3, paying off as he made his highest IPL score of 66, apart from him and Kuldeep Yadav being economical with the ball.

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs have shone with the bat, while Prithvi Shaw and Shai Hope, coming in place of David Warner in the last game, are due to step up to give DC more batting depth. Pant will also be hoping that the fast bowlers, who have been inconsistent so far, will click to complement the spinners well to contain Mumbai’s batting line-up, which hasn’t fired in unison.

Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have hit big knocks, but they haven’t been consistent. The likes of Tim David, Ishan Kishan and captain Hardik Pandya need to chip in and support the trio with the bat if they are to get a big total. In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah has undoubtedly been Mumbai's standout bowler. Bumrah is also leading the wicket-taking charts with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 6.37, with his death overs economy rate being at just 7.20, showcasing his effectiveness in a phase where batters go for big hits.

Barring Gerald Coetzee, who has 12 wickets in eight games, Mumbai’s other bowlers haven’t done anything of note. The visitors would be hoping the bowling unit gets its act together and makes merry under Delhi’s scorching heat as every game matters a lot for both teams in the race to the playoffs.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c), Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Mitchell Marsh, Anrich Nortje, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Abishek Porel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Lizaad Williams, Swastik Chhikara and Gulbadin Naib.

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Akash Madhwal, Romario Shepherd, Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Mohammad Nabi, Nehal Wadhera, Dewald Brevis, Kwena Maphaka Harvik Desai, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Luke Wood, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj and Shivalik Sharma.

Match starts at 3:30 pm on Star Sports (TV) and JioCinema (mobile).