Mumbai, May 21 (IANS) With a place in the playoffs on the line, Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in Match 63 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.

Delhi were dealt an early blow as their regular captain, Axar Patel, is down with the flu and sits out the match. Experienced South African Faf du Plessis, who is leading the side, said Axar has been sick for the last couple of days and added that it is a big opportunity for the team to have a crack at the playoffs spot.

Delhi Capitals have handed a debut to pacer Madhav Tiwari, while Sameer Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma will get to bat a bit higher in the order.

“We have not been at our best in the last few games and are hoping to compete as best as we can with their best skill-set, and if that happens, we can beat anyone,” said Du Plessis at the toss.

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said he too would have bowled first on this wicket. Pandya said they will have to play their best cricket if they are to advance into the knockout stage. He said the break has given them a chance to regroup and continue with their momentum. The Mumbai Indians skipper said they have not had a complete match and would like to tick a few boxes before the playoffs.

The match, originally scheduled to be played on May 15, was rescheduled because of the week-long suspension of the league due to violent conflict between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. It is a must-win for both teams. Both teams have one more game to play — against Punjab Kings.

Playing XIs:

Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Impact substitutes: Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Karn Sharma, Raj Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju

Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis (capt), Abishek Porel (wk), Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Tristan Stubbs, Dushmantha Chameera, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar.

Impact substitutes: KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sediqullah Atal, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar

–IANS

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