Last season's finalists clash at low-scoring Chennai | IPL 2021 Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians: SWOT Analysis

After wrapping up three matches in Mumbai, the Delhi Capitals will begin their Chennai phase of the league stage when they take on the Mumbai Indians in match 13 of IPL 2021. Here is our analysis.

The SWOT for DC

Strengths: DC’s opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw are looking in superb form. Shaw has hit one fifty and Dhawan has hit two fifties. They have hit 36 fours and smashed 9 sixes. Their form is the reason why DC has been able to chase down the targets of 188 and 195 against CSK and PBKS respectively. Dhawan is also showing good form as a fielder and has caught almost every ball that has come his way.

Weaknesses: Failure of Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith. The two batsmen are not particularly known for their batting in T20s. They struggle to balance the anchor role with attack. In such a case, DC’s middle-order loses steam. The balance of the team suggests that either of these two have bat in the top four, but their batting makes them a redundant player. This is one area of concern which coach Ricky Ponting and Rishabh Pant should look to iron out soon.

Opportunities: Amit Mishra, who started in DC’s first match against CSK and was benched for the next two matches, could get a chance in the team considering that Chepauk’s track has been low and slow and favouring the spinners. DC’s bowling attack has been relying on the pacers, but for the next two matches, Mishra should be a favoured bowler to couple with Ravichandran Ashwin.

Threats: After playing its first three matches in batsman-friendly Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, this will be DC’s first match at Chepauk. The players would have had just one day to have a look at the pitches and getting used to the conditions. MI however would be playing their fourth match in Chennai and by now are looking accustomed to the conditions. The sudden change in playing conditions could disrupt the form of DC players.

The SWOT for MI

Strengths: MI have dominated DC in the recent past. Last season the two teams met four times and all the four times MI came out on top. In the playoffs, MI defeated DC in the first qualifier and then knocked them over in the final to win the trophy. This is an early chance for MI to put a great show and send across a strong message to a team who could again be competing with MI for this year’s title.

Weaknesses: The ever-impressive MI’s middle order has just not been able to be at its best on the slow pitches of Chennai. Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya have combined to hit just four sixes. Hardik and Krunal are yet to hit a maximum in this year’s tournament. As a result, MI’s run rate in the middle phase of their inning has dropped significantly.

Opportunities: Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya have combined to pick 10 wickets which is one more than the number of wickets that the pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult has managed to pick. It seldom happens that spinners outshine pacers in an MI setup. In such a scenario Rohit Sharma could give Piyush Chawla an opportunity. Confidence of a third spinner could help Chahar and Pandya bowl with more freedom.

Threats: Krunal Pandya could slump into a bad form. The all-rounder has not been asked to bowl so far this season and Pandya has done very little with the bat too. If Pandya has another poor outing, he could slip into a poor phase. MI should avoid Pandya being in poor form because there is no like for like replacement for him. Pandya’s form is crucial for the team.

Head-to-head

Matches played: 28

DC: 12

MI: 16

Form guide: Last five matches (most recent first)

DC: W-L-W-L-W

MI: W-W-L-W-W

Deccan Herald’s dream XI

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (captain), Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Krunal Pandya, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah

Impact player for DC

Ravichandran Ashwin: Ravichandran Ashwin’s season has started slowly with the spinner picking only one wicket from three matches. But the off-spinner would be itching to bowl in Chepauk and exploit the spin-friendly conditions to his advantage. Ashwin knows Chepauk like the back of his hands and had enjoyed great success at this venue in the yellow jersey of CSK. And considering MI’s batting order has three left-hand batsmen, Ashwin is expected to have a great time in this match.

Impact player for MI

Jasprit Bumrah: MI’s lead paceman, Jasprit Bumarh picked seven wickets against DC last season. In total Burmah has picked 10 wickets in the six matches he has played against DC over the course of the last two seasons. If the recent numbers are anything to go by, then Bumrah could cause havoc in DC’s batting order.