Indian Premier League - IPL / Tobias Gourlay / 15 April 2012 /

The IPL is full of stars - that's the point of it - but Mumbai and Delhi have some of the brightest in the firmament. Tobias Gourlay previews the big game at the Wankhede

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Mumbai

Four days on from Mumbai's last match and the Sachin Tendulkar is still the major talking point. The Little Master hurt his finger batting during the Indians' opening game and hasn't played since. This time his participation will be a game-time decision.

Whisper it quietly in India, but Mumbai's most important player might actually be Lasith Malinga. The leading wicket-taker in IPL4 is now atop the less glamorous economy-rate chart in IPL5. Last season his combined figures from two matches against Delhi were 7-2-31-7.

Delhi

Sehwag, Jayawardene, Pietersen. As if those three weren't enough, Ross Taylor has declared himself fit to play for the Daredevils just over two weeks after breaking his finger playing Test cricket against South Africa.

Taylor's appearance would probably bring a rest for Roelof van der Meuwe, the South African slow left armer who might find conditions unhelpful in Mumbai.

Venue & conditions

The Wankhede's third game of IPL5 starts in the evening. Dew might become a factor later on in the game, favouring seam bowlers. The team batting first won each of the first two games - by at least 20 runs. Hopefully the choice of pitch will not be controversial.

Match Odds

The Indians beat the Daredevils home and away last season, ripping them out for 95 in Delhi. They won both games in 2010 too, one of them by almost 100 runs. That's four wins in a row for Mumbai.

Mumbai's batting might be a little light if Tendulkar is ruled out again, but the match could turn on Malinga's battle with the Daredevils' heavyweight top order. Supported by Munaf Patel, the market expects him to win it and makes Mumbai the [1.83] favourites.

If the Indians bat first, that will look a good price.

Top Mumbai Batsman

While Tendulkar's been away, Richard Levi, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have all won different matches with their batting. None could be described as consistent, however, and the batting order is not fixed. Levi has had three different opening partners in four matches so far.

Top Delhi Batsman

It's a stellar batting lineup, whether Taylor plays or not. Is Kevin Pietersen the most in-form of all the stars? After swiping 150 in his most recent Test for England, he made an unbeaten 43 from 26 balls in his first IPL outing of the season.

Then again, it might be Jayawardene. He's captain of his country again and England will acknowledge that the renewed responsibility suits him. The Sri Lankan was also unbeaten (20*) in his first IPL game of the year.

Most Sixes

Delhi's batsmen have the bigger names, but Mumbai's might be the bigger hitters. Levi, Sharma, Pollard and Rayudu all regularly swing for the fences. All have scored as many sixes as Delhi's leading maximum-getter (Pathan, four so far this season), if not more.

Best Bet: Back Mumbai @ [1.83] if they bat first

*Follow Tobias on Twitter: @tobiasgourlay

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