Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey

DC vs MI Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report: IPL 2022 Match 2 | DC vs MI Dream11 Prediction Today | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians Key Players | Brabourne Pitch Report

The first day game of IPL 2022 sees two teams who have featured at the business end of the tournament regularly in recent seasons. It is becoming a rivalry of sorts, with both sides engaging in unpredictable, exciting and action-packed battles.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether Mumbai Indians can right the wrongs of a very disappointing 2021. The back-to-back champions of 2019 and 2020 missed the playoffs altogether, as their batting never got going until the last two games where it was too late.

On paper, Mumbai look very strong, particularly in the batting department. They have two finishers who can complement an excellent top order, with eyes to be fixed on the most expensive Australian, Tim David. Also, in Jasprit Bumrah and Tymal Mills, they have two of the best death bowlers going around, which puts MI in a good position to dominate the death overs with both bat and ball.

However, can they take enough wickets in the powerplay and middle overs with their spin options? Is there enough support for Jasprit Bumrah? Can the top order play with greater fluency than they did in a disappointing 2020 campaign? MI face these questions and more in their quest to return to the playoffs in what looks a very competitive IPL 2022.

Delhi Capitals, who have been consistent in recent campaigns, have questions of their own. They will be without most of their overseas stars for their first few matches, which puts the onus on their domestic stars to deliver. There is still talent in Delhi’s possible XI for this match, and it will be a huge confidence boost if they can come away with a victory here.

Possible Playing 11

It will be a challenging start to the season for Delhi Capitals in terms of putting their best team together. David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman are unavailable due to national commitments, while Anrich Nortje is still recovering from injury. More details here.

Delhi have a number of left-arm bowling options, so they could look to play Kamlesh Nagarkoti as another right-arm pace option.

Delhi Capitals: 1. Prithvi Shaw, 2. Tim Seifert, 3. Sarfaraz Khan/Yash Dhull, 4. Rishabh Pant (c & wk), 5. Rovman Powell, 6. Lalit Yadav, 7. Axar Patel, 8. Shardul Thakur, 9. Khaleel Ahmed/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 10. Kuldeep Yadav, 11. Chetan Sakariya

Suryakumar Yadav is set to miss the first match as he recovers from injury. Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen and Tymal Mills are likely to be MI’s four overseas players for this match, unless they opt for Daniel Sams.

19-year old Tilak Varma could slot in at three. He has made a promising start to his T20 career, with 381 runs in 15 innings at an average of 29.30 and strike rate of 143.77.

Mumbai Indians: 1. Rohit Sharma (c), 2. Ishan Kishan (wk), 3. Tilak Varma, 4. Rahul Buddhi, 5. Tim David, 6. Kieron Pollard, 7. Fabian Allen/Daniel Sams, 8. Jaydev Unadkat, 9. Tymal Mills, 10. Murugan Ashwin/Mayank Markande, 11. Jasprit Bumrah

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Delhi Capitals:

• Prithvi Shaw has big responsibility in the absence of DC’s overseas stars. The opener loves batting in India in the IPL, with 905 runs in 623 deliveries (strike rate 145). However, he has an awful record vs Mumbai Indians (8 inns, 66 runs, avg. 8.25), with spinners (Jayant Yadav and Krunal Pandya) dismissing him last season. So, MI could look to employ spin early, i.e. Fabian Allen.
• What a huge match it is for skipper Rishabh Pant. His IPL record in India is magnificent (1,396 runs, avg. 40, SR 156) compared to the UAE (551 runs, avg. 34, SR 112). He has scored 332 runs against MI at an average of 30.18 and strike rate of 143.72, including a magnificent 78 off 36 balls in the IPL 2019 opener.
• Pant’s battle with Jasprit Bumrah will be key. Bumrah has bowled 42 balls to Pant in the IPL, where the DC skipper has scored 47 runs for one dismissal. Pant comes into the tournament in great form, with runs against South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka across formats.
• Rovman Powell announced himself with a brilliant century against England earlier this year. He scored 147 runs in three matches at an average of 73.50 and strike rate of 193.42 in that series.
• Axar Patel was player of the match the last time DC played MI (3/21). He has six wickets in as many matches against MI at an average of 24.00 and economy rate of 7.00. How he fares on the Brabourne pitch compared to Sharjah will be interesting to see.
• Shardul Thakur is a contender for the Purple Cap in 2022. He is a genuine wicket-taker, and DC need him to deliver in the crunch stages. Overall vs MI, Thakur has taken seven wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 9.45. Can he improve on this?
• Kamlesh Nagarkoti took seven wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 7.09 in the Syed Ali Mushtaq Trophy late last year.

Mumbai Indians:

• Rohit Sharma has the most runs of any player in MI-DC matches (684, avg. 32.57, SR 130.53). He scored 44 (30) and 7 (10) against them last season.
• Ishan Kishan has an outstanding record as an opener in the IPL. He has struck 555 runs in 13 innings at an average of 55.50 and strike rate of 155.90. Also, he enjoys batting against DC, with 263 runs in seven innings at an average of 65.75 and strike rate of 150.29.
• Eyes will be fixed on Tim David. The million dollar man is coming off a magnificent PSL campaign with Multan, where he scored 278 runs at an average of 39.78 and incredible strike rate of 194.40.
• David much prefers to bat first in T20s. He averages 47.41 and strikes at 167.10 when batting first compared to just 22.80 and 147.41 batting second.
• Kieron Pollard’s under-par season in 2021 hurt Mumbai. He will be aiming for a big season, starting with DC, whom he has scored 360 runs against at an average of 22.50 and strike rate of 137.93. Today could be his day as DC are filled with left-arm bowlers and he has a great record vs left-armers in IPL: 179 runs, strike rate: 185.87.
• Pollard has a better record chasing in the IPL (1,449 runs, avg. 31.5, SR 156.5) compared to batting first (1,819 runs, avg. 28.9, SR 144.8).
• Jasprit Bumrah has the most wickets in MI-DC matches among active players. The world-class bowler has taken 20 wickets in 17 matches vs DC at an average of 23.55 and economy rate of 7.36.
• Tymal Mills could be a great addition for MI. He took 38 wickets in 27 short-form matches in 2021 at an economy rate of 6.97. His partnership with Bumrah at the death will be key.
• Jaydev Unadkat took 13 wickets in six wickets in the Syed Ali Mushtaq Trophy in late 2021 at an average of 11.84 and economy rate of 6.84. Also, he has a wonderful record against DC, with 19 wickets in nine matches against them.

Other Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 30, DC 14, MI 16.
• Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians twice in 2021.
• Mumbai Indians have not won their first match in an IPL since 2013.
• Tim Seifert strikes at 138.80 when batting first in T20s compared to 117.45 when batting second.
• Rishabh Pant strikes at 122.00 against good length deliveries in the IPL compared to 171 against full and 132 against short. MI should look to employ the good length as much as possible to the dynamic keeper-batsman.
• Rohit Sharma strikes at 180 against short-pitches deliveries in the IPL (243 runs off 135 balls).
• Jasprit Bumrah concedes just 5.25 an over against left-handers in the IPL. DC have a lot of right-handers, but expect MI to use Bumrah a lot against Pant.

Brabourne Stadium Mumbai Pitch Report and Weather

There hasn’t been a top level T20 match on this ground since a T20I between Australia Women and England Women back in 2018. Australia smashed 209 batting first in that match.

In terms of the IPL, there were four matches on this ground in 2014/15. The average first innings score was a high 190.5 in these matches, with the team batting first winning three out of the four games.

A hot and sunny day is forecast in Mumbai for this clash, with a top of about 32 degrees.

Dream11 Prediction

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base team:

• Wicket-keepers: Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant
• Batsmen: Rohit Sharma
• All-rounders: Axar Patel
• Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur

Match Prediction

Mumbai Indians have a terrible record in the first match of an IPL season. They have not won any of their first matches since 2013. However, this is arguably their best chance with Delhi Capitals missing many of their overseas stars. in saying that, a score over 180 by the team batting first could be a challenging chase.