New Delhi: Back in their element at the business end of the tournament, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be firing on all cylinders against wooden spooners Delhi Daredevils in their bid to clinch a play-off berth in a must-win IPL encounter, here on Sunday.
The cash-rich league is still alive and kicking with only Sunrisers Hyderabad (18 from 13 games) and Chennai Super Kings (16 from 13 games) having clinched play-off spots. Statistically, five teams save Daredevils are still contention, with two play-off spots still up for grabs. In the mid-table clutter, Mumbai Indians are among the four teams who are at 12 points and fighting for a spot in the play-off.
Mumbai Indians (NRR +0.384) will be praying for a favourable result for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last home match against KKR (14 points and NRR -0.091). A KKR win will mean that only one slot will be left during the final two encounter with an eye on run-rate. While Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will face off in one of the two matches today, Kings XI Punjab takes on Chennai Super Kings in the final round-robin match later in the evening at Pune on Sunday.
However the performance in the past few matches is sure to have boosted the confidence of Rohit Sharma and his men. Mumbai had a topsy-turvy campaign so far as after a series of defeats early in the tournament, they were able to string in the victories when it mattered most. However Daredevils can be the banana peel and Mumbai Indians will be wary after CSK slipped in their penultimate game.
