Delhi Daredevils — already out of the Indian Premier league — have nothing to lose as they host Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Sunday. With a play-off spot at stake, the Mumbai franchise will therefore have a lot to worry about.
Caught in a raging battle for securing a berth in the advanced stages of the competition, Mumbai Indians presently sit at number-five on the IPl points-table with six wins from 13 games.
With Delhi Daredevils —and more recently — Royal Challengers Bangalore bidding farewell to their chances of having any part in the further proceedings of the league, four teams still remain in contention to procure a ticket to the play-offs. Among these four contenders, Mumbai Indians are one of the two sides who are at 12 points — Kings XI Punjab being the other team.
As it stands, Mumbai Indians — with their present net run rate (NRR) at +0.384 — have a lot in hand. First in their priority list is to ensure a convincing win over Daredevils in Sunday's encounter, which will take them level with Kolkata Knight Riders (NRR -0.096) and Rajasthan Royals (NRR -0.246) in terms of points won, in case of which the NRR will decide the teams' position on the table.
Moving on to the visitors’ temperament for the must-win encounter on Sunday, Mumbai will be arriving with an air of confidence about themselves following an impressive form which includes four wins in the last five matches.
Suryakumar Yadav's hard-hitting form will be a spectacle most sought after by the Mumbai faithful. Yadav has tallied an emphatic 500-run total from 13 innings in the ongoing edition of the IPl.
As for the home side, pride once again is all that is left to play for. Their 34-run victory over a fearsome Chennai Super Kings side will definitely be taken as a cautionary advice by Mumbai Indians, who will remain wary of replicating Chennai's slip at the Kotla.