DC look to seal playoff berth in game vs MI

Delhi Capitals will be looking to end their run of defeats and confirm a spot in the playoffs when they face the Mumbai Indians in the 51st match of the Indian Premier League here on Saturday. With three defeats on the trot, DC have faltered in the latter stage of the league season after dominating for much of it. While MI are on top of the table with 16 points, DC (14 points) are at the third place, thanks to their net run-rate which is lower than that of second-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

If DC suffer defeats in their next two matches, it is possible that Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) would surpass them on net run-rate, even if the KL Rahul-led side win only one of their remaining two matches. Heavy defeats in their next two games could even push DC out of the top four if Kolkata Knight Riders or SunRisers Hyderabad register big wins. On the other hand, a win against MI would put them beyond the reach of the fifthplaced side in the league and thus confirm a spot in the playoffs.

 MI will be looking to keep up their momentum as putting their feet up could result in them fall out of the top two and thus having to play an extra match in the playoffs. After two back to back defeats, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be desperate for a win against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A win in this match will be enough for RCB to secure a spot in the playoffs. While RCB sit at the second place with 14 points, SRH lie at the sixth spot with just 10 points. SRH need to win both their matches left and loads of luck to qualify for the playoffs. 

The David Warner-led SRH will be high on confidence after their massive 88-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday. It was SRH’s toporder that fired in unison to put up a huge total (219/2) on board before their bowlers set the Dubai International Cricket Stadium ablaze as they wrapped up Delhi for a paltry 131 runs. Both Warner and Wridddhiman Saha are in great touch while Manish Pandey, too, has been getting better with each passing game. Meanwhile, Vijay Shankar and Jason Holder, who d’dn’t get the opportunity to bat against DC, needs to be more responsible as the onus of the lower middleorder lies on them.

 Despite losing experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar midway, their bowlers have clicked collectively to trouble the opponents, filling the vo id quite decently. They were clinical against DC especially, Rashid Khan (3/7), who has not just got breakthroughs at regular intervals but has also led the entire SRH bowling attack.