The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixtures in the 2022 Indian Premier League season
Delhi Capitals take on Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
The game will be played on Sunday, March 27. The first ball will be bowled at 3.30pm local time (11am GMT).
The game will be held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Well, it is the first game of the season for both of these sides, and we've only just had a huge mega auction, with a large turnover of players on both teams, so 'form' in a traditional sense is a little moot.
If last season means anything, Delhi finished the 2021 IPL group stage top of the pool with 10 wins from 14 games before losing both their knockout matches. Mumbai Indians disappointed, winning seven and losing seven to finish fifth.
Remember, Mumbai don't win their first game of the season. It's been a decade since that happened. Is it a hoodoo, or just a series of unfortunate coincidences?
Rishabh Pant is the Delhi Capitals skipper
Delhi Capitals' first-choice line-up features a top four with plenty of capacity to muller opponents. However, the Capitals have been stripped of several of their overseas stars (five of the seven, actually) for the early rounds owing to a combination of international duty and injury.
As part of that, they are missing the Australian duo, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. How their replacements get on against Jasprit Bumrah and Tymal Mills will go a long way to deciding whether Delhi can be competitive in this match. Yash Dhull, the exciting India Under 19 captain whose no-look uppercut in the nets has gone viral this week, could fill in at three for Marsh, while New Zealander Tim Seifert is expected to be the like(ish)-for-like swap for Warner.
How the primarily homegrown Delhi bowling attack deals with the death six-hitting skills of Kieron Pollard and Tim David will also prove to be a fascinating watch. If Delhi can make early inroads, there is a case for saying Mumbai's tail looks excessively long, but getting through the top six will be no easy feat.
Dewald Brevis, the South African starlet who wowed in the Under 19 World Cup, is a possible deputy for the injury Suryakumar Yadav. How he goes will be intriguing, with comparisons to the great AB de Villiers already starting to float around his name.
Matches played: 30
Delhi Capitals wins: 14
Mumbai Indians wins: 16
Sunny and warm, with temperatures around 32 degrees Celsius at the scheduled start of play. A good breeze might help keep the players cool.
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, N Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Jofra Archer, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen
Rohit Sharma leads Mumbai Indians
Delhi Capitals: Privthi Shaw, Tim Seifert, KS Bharat, Rishabh Pant, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Shardul Thakur, Axel Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, M Ashwin, Tymal Mills, Jasprit Bumrah
Mumbai Indians are favourites across the board, with Unibet offering the most generous odds at the time of publication (3/4). Delhi Capitals are available at as long as 5/4 with BetFred and Sporting Index.
With so many big names missing, it would be quite something for Delhi to spring a result here. Mumbai win. And a handsome one.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.
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