IPL 2015: Delhi Daredevils feel the heat as Mumbai Indians seek fourth win on the trot
MUMBAI: Left walking a tightrope after an inconsistent campaign, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils will do all they can to unsettle each other when they meet at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday as the race for IPL 8 playoffs heats up.
Full coverage: Indian Premier League 2015
What is interesting is that both teams have won and lost equal number of matches (4 wins and 5 losses) and are tied with eight points. Delhi find themselves on the sixth spot due to a slightly better net run rate. But that doesn't convey the real picture.
With three straight wins over the last 10 days, Rohit Sharma's side appears to have settled in their own skin. They have a stable look around their bowling department and the batting, too, finally appears to be pulling its weight. But that still hasn't done enough to hoist them from the penultimate position on the table as the couple of abandoned games and the defeats suffered by table toppers Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings have kept things tight in the middle.
MI were impressive as they outclassed no-hopers Kings XI Punjab with a polished, clinical bowling display that brought a 23-run victory at Mohali on Sunday and a dollop of renewed expectation around their chances of making it to the playoffs. Pocket-rocket Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons, the only opening pair to have not put together a fifty-plus run stand before Sunday, managed to shoo the monkey off their backs with a 111-run partnership against Punjab.
After a string of low scores, Parthiv finally looked convincing as he went on to make 59 off 36 deliveries. With Simmons, too, coming good once again with a 56-ball 71, the openers may have got rid of a major headache for MI.
Full coverage: Indian Premier League 2015
What is interesting is that both teams have won and lost equal number of matches (4 wins and 5 losses) and are tied with eight points. Delhi find themselves on the sixth spot due to a slightly better net run rate. But that doesn't convey the real picture.
With three straight wins over the last 10 days, Rohit Sharma's side appears to have settled in their own skin. They have a stable look around their bowling department and the batting, too, finally appears to be pulling its weight. But that still hasn't done enough to hoist them from the penultimate position on the table as the couple of abandoned games and the defeats suffered by table toppers Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings have kept things tight in the middle.
MI were impressive as they outclassed no-hopers Kings XI Punjab with a polished, clinical bowling display that brought a 23-run victory at Mohali on Sunday and a dollop of renewed expectation around their chances of making it to the playoffs. Pocket-rocket Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons, the only opening pair to have not put together a fifty-plus run stand before Sunday, managed to shoo the monkey off their backs with a 111-run partnership against Punjab.
After a string of low scores, Parthiv finally looked convincing as he went on to make 59 off 36 deliveries. With Simmons, too, coming good once again with a 56-ball 71, the openers may have got rid of a major headache for MI.
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