The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take the headlines later today when Chennai Super Kings face Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chepauk Stadium. Three-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will start their campaign against Delhi Capitals (DC) on March 24 (Sunday) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Delhi aims to change fortune
Meanwhile, Mumbai and Delhi both aim to recuperate from their poor outings in the last season. The Mumbai-based outfit failed to progress from the group stages while Delhi finished last in the table. Moreover, there are one of the few franchises who are yet to lift the title. In a bid to change their luck, the franchise have changed their name to Delhi Capitals from Delhi Daredevils. They also have brought changes to their support staff adding Mohammad Kaif and Sourav Ganguly.
The Capitals will be led by the young Shreyas Iyer – who would have senior and experienced cricketers to pick the brains from. The middle-order looks packed with likes Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Colin Ingram while Shikhar Dhawan will look after the job of the openers. The bowling also looks settled with quality fast bowlers; however, Kaif will have to work on their fielding which has hurt their chances in the previous seasons.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians will stress how the manage the workload of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Skipper Rohit Sharma has revealed that they have enough firepower in the middle-order, as a result, he will open the innings. In addition, they also have quality all-rounders in their ranks which will help them to strive for balance.
The Mumbai Indians recently received a massive blow as they star bowlers Lasith Malinga will miss the first six games of the season. Also, Adam Milne will also not be a part of the tournament. This leaves them with only Bumrah to spearhead the bowling attack as they aim their fourth IPL title.
Date & Venue: March 24 (Sunday) at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Weather Forecast
The temperature will hover around 30 degrees Celsius making it ideal for an intense game of cricket. There will be a fair bit of breeze going around the stadium during the game time providing some swing to the fast bowlers. Meanwhile, there are no chances of rain – much to the joy of the spectators.
The Wankhede wicket has always been a happy hunting ground for the batsmen and they will once again look to make a merry out of it.
Here are some more details:
