The Saturday (May 21) evening clash between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) is arguably the most important league-stage fixture of the competition. The fourth and final playoff spot in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) will be decided on the basis of the outcome of this clash.
Rishabh Pant-led DC will make their way into the knockout stages and set up a clash vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the eliminator at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday (May 25) win a win over MI. Currently, DC have 7 wins to their name and 14 points. A win will see them climb upto fourth place with 16 points as they have a better Net Run Rate (NRR) than Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). On the other hand, a victory for MI will help RCB progress to the playoffs.
Battle to avoid 10th
While the battle to clinch the fourth spot is what the world has its eyes, there is another sub-plot brewing ahead of the game at the Wankhede. MI will be looking to avoid a 10th place finish and look to upstage arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CK) and climb upto 9th on the point’s table.
While the situation is a simple one for DC as they just need to win to achieve their objective, MI’s equation is a little more complicated. The Rohit Sharma-led team will have to win by 91 runs if they are batting first to upstage CSK on NRR. On the other hand, if they bowl; the five-time champions need to reach whatever target DC set for them in just nine overs.
CSK finished their season on Friday with a defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and have just 8 points having won 4 and lost 10 games in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, MI have won 3 and lost 10 matches so far while having just 6 points their name.
