There is a rare Saturday double header in the Indian Premier League this week and it begins when the Delhi Capitals play another home match in the IPL 2024 season when the Mumbai Indians are the visitors for a huge contest.
These two sides are both outside of the top four and are slowly running out of matches to get into the zone from which they will have the chance to launch a bid for the title. This is one that neither will want to lose.
Delhi Capitals
Although they still aren’t where they want to be, the Delhi Capitals are enjoying a much better campaign than they have in recent times. The one thing you would certainly say about them is that they are so much better to watch as they have a very aggressive style both with the bat and the ball. That has led them to four wins from their nine matches so far but if eight is generally the benchmark number to reach the top four, it does mean that they will need to win four of their last five.
The Capitals have suddenly caught fire though. They have won three of their last four matches, including beating the competent Gujarat Titans a couple of times. I’m still slightly concerned that their bowlers ship a few too many runs and they almost came a cropper with the match all but done and dusted last time out but as they start to build up some winning momentum it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see the bowlers execute their skills much better when the going gets tough.
Mumbai Indians
This is a season which hasn’t really got going for the Mumabi Indians just yet. If this was any other side we would probably be writing their obituary for the campaign but Mumbai have been in this position so many times and then caught fire, gone on a roll, made it through to the top four and then gone on to win the competition. Whether that happens remains to be seen but we certainly shouldn’t write them off just because they know how to play well with their backs against the wall.
If they are going to run the gauntlet, and they are going to need to win at least five of their last six matches, then they are going to have to come to the party with the ball. Jasprit Bumrah will always be dangerous and do the job but we’re not far from a position where teams can sit on him and tuck right into the free buffet at the other end. They have more than enough firepower to deliver with the bat so if another bowler or two can come up with the goods this could still be the season Mumbai want it to be.
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Key Players
Rishabh Pant reminded everybody why he was one of the most dynamic and feared batters in the competition prior to his car crash in the last match when pretty much everything went out of the park. He was impossible to bowl to.
If there is one man in the Mumbai Indians side who can produce batting like that it is Suryakumar Yadav. He is probably still finding some consistency after a period out of the game injured but conditions here in Delhi should suit him.
Betting
I’m all over the sixes in this match. At 19.5 we are heading towards the sort of lines where I’m a little wary but not here because we have two bowling units who are going around the park and two batting units who aren’t just smoking the ball to all parts but who bat deep and can just keep on going. We know the trend is for high scoring matches in this tournament with the Impact Player and everything that comes with that and I don’t expect that to change here.
We have had two matches at this venue in this tournament and the sixes totals have been 31 and 26 so that in itself makes me like over 19.5 sixes in this one but we have also had a match between these two at the Wankhede where we got 25 sixes in a match where Yadav and Pant faces five balls between them. There is the potential for even more sixes here because Delhi have clearly gone down the road of producing batting paradises. I’ll play the over here.
Tips
Back Over 19.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Boylesports
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