Delhi Capitals vs. Mumbai Indians: Mumbai Indians to start the season slow again

The Indian capital and financial capital of India will lock horns for the second game in the Indian Premier League. Last season Delhi got the better of Mumbai on both occasions. These two teams met in the final of 2020 with Mumbai winning the tie. Both the teams are missing some key players and it will be interesting how they go about their business and start the season on a positive note.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi has an interesting mix of retained and new players in the team. They will go into the game with the slight disadvantage of not having their star pacer Norje, who is not completely fit at the moment. David Warner will also be unavailable for the game as he is on international duty in Pakistan. However, this will also mean they can test out some homegrown talents for the first few matches which will give them an edge, coming to the end of the season. 

Delhi Capitals Predicted Lineup

Tim Seifert, Prithvi Shaw, KS Bharat, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Sarfraz Khan, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Lungi Ngidi

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians squad looks weaker on paper compared to the star-studded team they have had in previous years. They have however retained the core of the team in the auction with the likes of Rohit, Pollard Bumrah, and Surya Kumar Yadav. It would be interesting to see how Ishan Kishan will play given he is now the costliest player in the IPL. Mumbai is going into the game without Surya Kumar who is out due to injury. They have a bad record of losing IPL seasons badly and then growing into the season as it progresses but they would want to change that and get an early win under the belt.

Mumbai Indians Predicted Lineup

Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Anmolpreet Singh, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin/Mayank Markande

Expert betting tips

We are expecting Delhi to win despite not having the full strength and Mumbai will start another campaign with a defeat. Historically Brabourne stadium is known to be a feast for the batters and we are expecting the same with lots of runs being scored in this match. It will be interesting to see whether the captain's choice at toss since it's a day game. We are expecting a nail-biting finish to the game as it's a batsman-friendly pitch and both squads have a good batting lineup.

Prediction

• Delhi to win for 2.24
• Each Team To Score Over 169.5 Runs for 2.7
• Highest opening partnership - W1 for 2.00