Delhi Capitals are set to take on Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
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Delhi Capitals will be keen to bounce back from the hard-fought defeat they suffered against Kolkata Knight Riders when they take on Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. In a low-scoring thriller, Knight Riders won the match by three wickets. Batting first, Delhi had scored 127/9. However, the chase was not straight forward as KKR reached the target with only three wickets left. The Delhi franchise, which has registered 8 victories in 11 matches, is just one win away from booking a place in the playoffs. The team’s assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has informed that the side’s primary focus in the clash against Mumbai Indians will be to put up a good performance in the batting department.
“The key focus for us in the match against Mumbai Indians will be our batting. Whether we bat first or second, we have to bat well. Mumbai is a great team to play against. All the players are always excited to play against Mumbai Indians. We have performed well collectively this season. Different players are stepping up in different matches and situations. We are lucky to have so many match-winners and hopefully, someone will stand up for the team again in the match against Mumbai,” said Kaif during a virtual conference on Friday.
Considering the fact that the team is in a good position on the IPL table, Kaif was asked whether the Delhi franchise will be looking to give opportunities to fringe players in the coming matches. Kaif replied, “We have not qualified yet. Funny things happen in the IPL and we are very much aware of it. We have to keep getting better as there is always room for improvement. We are sitting at the second spot on the table, but we have to keep working hard. We have to play our best team in every match.”
The assistant coach also stressed the importance of having quality Indian players in their team. He added: “Having quality Indian players in a franchise is the key for any franchise. We are lucky to have some quality Indian players and we are also fortunate to have quite a few Indian players who play international cricket. If there are seven Indian players, who have been playing in the IPL regularly and understand their roles and responsibilities, then that’s a huge benefit for any team.”
While speaking about the change in the pace of the wicket in Sharjah this year, Kaif said that the players should take up the challenge of scoring runs on a difficult pitch. He added: “The pitch in Sharjah has been a bit more on the slower side this year. However, the players must take up the challenge of batting on difficult pitches, where it’s tough to score runs. The team which accepts the challenge of scoring runs on a difficult pitch will win.”
