MI opt to field against DC with RCB's fate hanging in balance

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field against Delhi Capitals in their last IPL 2022 league-stage match here at the Wankhede Stadium.

Saturday night will play host to the most thrilling encounter of the ongoing tournament as Mumbai Indians clash with the mighty Delhi Capitals who will be eyeing a playoff berth and must win to achieve while a defeat sends Royal Challengers Bangalore to the play-offs.

The equation is absolutely simple for the Challengers. There are no other thoughts than a defeat for the Delhi Capitals that can put the Challengers through. The net run rate difference is off the charts and there is hardly anything else that RCB would like to think about.

In the simplest of terms, if Delhi Capitals win, RCB crashes out and if Mumbai walk away with the bragging rights, the Challengers sail through.

At the time of toss, Rohit Sharma said: "We are going to bowl first. Good track. Wanted to have a score in front of us. Crucial for us that we restrict them and then bat freely. We were inconsistent throughout the season. The talk in the group is that we need to come together. There will be a few eyes on us, so we got to come up with the best. We have tried a few things in the last few games keeping an eye on the future. We want to finish on a high. Two changes. Brevis back in for Stubbs. Shokeen in place of Sanjay, who is injured."

It started pouring as Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant was talking at the toss. Pant said: "We would have bowl as well but we lost the toss. Prithvi comes in for Lalit."

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Daniel Sams, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Riley Meredith, and Mayank Markande.

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Sarfaraz Khan, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, and Khaleel Ahmed.