Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils find themselves in a similar situation right at the start of the IPL, with both franchises struggling with the water threatening to rise above waist level.
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It is manageable until it gets to your nose, but at the start of the tournament, you want to be cruising, not jumping and gasping for breath.
Rohit Sharma has seen it all though, as Mumbai have traditionally left things late when it comes to making the playoffs. They have been down this road, but thankfully they know the road back home. Delhi on the other hand don’t and hence you somehow feel that this game holds more importance for DD than it does for MI.
However, both teams would be looking to get on the board this season as early as possible and avoid the humiliation of being deemed out of contention for that playoff spot half way through the season.
While Delhi should go in with the same team as the last game, Mumbai would welcome Hardik Pandya back into the line up after that minor ankle injury he had suffered in MI’s first game of the season.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy League(Fantasy Tips for MI vs DD)
Transfer out: KL Rahul, Kulwant Khejroliya
Transfer in: Evin Lewis, Mayank Markande
Now, I already have Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Rahul Tewatia and jasprit Bumrah in my side for this game.
The two players worth discussing for this game are Evin Lewis and Glenn Maxwell, both of whom can set the stage on fire on their day, but will it be today?
Glenn Maxwell looked mighty rusty in his last game for DD, after having sent into open, just after he had flown from Australia having finished his ‘best man’ duties at Aaron Finch’s wedding.
He is sure to bat in the middle order, but his position isn’t certain for now and hence I’ll wait for a few games before there is a clear indication about how he is going to be used by Gautam Gambhir.
Evin Lewis is the only other player worth bringing in considering the threat that he possesses at the top of the order.
He has missed out in the first two games but the law of averages will catch up with him at some point and thus expect a ‘Lewis blockbuster’ to hit your TV screens pretty soon.
And when he is presented with that road at the Wankhede, you would be foolish to leave him out.
I am not getting in Mustafizur Rehman into my side despite his stellar performance in the last game, as I don’t expect him to get much purchase from that unforgiving wicket at the Wankhede.
For the uncapped player, there are a lot of options on offer, but with the budget available and going by current form, I think Markande, the purple cap holder is the best choice.
Markande has bowled beautifully in the first few games and is only expected to go from strength to strength, bamboozling the batsmen with his trickery. Get him in!
Match Powerplayer: Jasprit Bumrah/Chris Morris(whoever bowls first)
2nd innings Powerplayer: Colin Munro/Evin Lewis(whoever bats second)
Fandromeda(Fantasy Tips for MI vs DD)
Transfer out: KL Rahul, Mujeeb
Transfer in: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Markande
Now, I already have Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan and Evin Lewis in my team for this game.
Rohit Sharma will be the first player that I get into my Fandromeda team for this game. The MI captain has had indifferent start to his IPL campaign both a personal and on a captaincy front.
But what does a batsman need most when he is up against it? A flat Wankhede wicket.
Get him in, you wouldn’t want to miss out on a Rohit Sharma special at the Wankhede.
Mayank Markande has been a revelation in this tournament and is currently the purple cap holder. While the flat Mumbai track won’t offer him much turn, he did manage to pick up 4 wickets against CSK. If you have more than 60 transfers in the bag, get him in!
Batting Powerplayer: Evin Lewis/Colin Munro
Bowling Powerplayer: Jasprit Bumrah/Chris Morris
