What Defending champions Mumbai Indians will come up against the Delhi Daredevils in Match 47 of VIVO IPL 2016. Both teams have 12 points on the board, though the Delhi Daredevils are better placed having only played 10 matches as against the Mumbai Indians’ 12 matches. In their most recent outing, the Daredevils defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad quite convincingly, while the Mumbai Indians were handed a seven-wicket thrashing by Kings XI Punjab. The two points in this match are extremely critical to MI, who are faced with a “survive to stay alive” kind of situation. A defeat in this match might not necessarily shut the door on MI’s playoff aspirations, but they would rather control their destiny than leave it to other teams and mathematical calculations. Rohit Sharma and company haven’t quite come to terms with the conditions at Visakhapatnam; they were bowled out for 92 in their first match in the coastal city, after which they struggled to get to 124-9 in the match against Kings XI Punjab. Given how much rides on this contest, MI need to be at their absolute best and bring their ‘A’ game to the park on Sunday evening. When 15 May 2016, 2000 Hrs IST Where ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam Weather Temperature: Max 31°c, Min 29°c Humidity: Max 84% Wind: 9kmph The Protagonists

Rohit Sharma is MI’s most influential batsman; the MI captain was in splendid form – especially in run-chases – in the first three weeks of the competition. However, in the last few matches he seems to have hit a lean patch and has been dismissed for scores of 5, 25 & 15. It is about time he returns to the party, for the stakes are extremely high in this stage of the tournament and MI will benefit from a big score from him at the top. Early on in the season, Delhi Daredevils piled on the wins riding on runs from Quinton de Kock’s willow. However, since then many other young lads - Karun Nair, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant, to name a few - have put their hands up and contributed to DD wins. It is on the bowling front that DD have had consistent performers. Zaheer Khan might not have the pace some of the other bowlers in his team have, but the 37-year old has impressed with his leadership skills and with his ability to outsmart the batsmen. Chris Morris has executed his plans very nicely, especially at the death. Amit Mishra has spun a web around opponents on most occasions, mixing up his flighted leg-spinners and googlies very well to reap 12 wickets. Head to Head

Courtesy their 10-run win in Delhi earlier this season, the Delhi Daredevils have a slight edge in IPL matches against the Mumbai Indians. Of the 17 matches between the two traditional rivals, DD have won 9 while MI have won 8. Trivia

Only three players have featured in each one of the Delhi Daredevils’ ten matches this season; they are Karun Nair, Sanju Samson and Amit Mishra. The Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils are two sides who’ve experimented with their opening combination. MI have tried four different opening combinations, yet average 12.17 in their 12 matches, while DD have tried five different opening combinations and average 27.60 for the first wicket. The Delhi Daredevils have scored at the rate of 7.06 in the Powerplay overs in VIVO IPL 201, while they’ve conceded at the rate of 8.23 in the first six overs. The Mumbai Indians meanwhile score at 7.02 – the slowest among all teams - and concede at the rate of 7.23 in the first six overs. What Next Mumbai Indians head to Kanpur next, for their away match against the Gujarat Lions, scheduled to be played on May 21. DD will remain in Visakhapatnam and take on Rising Pune Supergiants on May 17.