There is something that IPL fans must have noticed this year. Along with the narrow wins and losses that diehards have come to associate with this tournament, there has also been a high percentage of games where the outcome was decided well before going to the last over. Of the last six matches before Saturday, four were won by 40 runs or more, one by 10 wickets.
Don't expect that to happen when Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Capitals in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Early pace setters in the competition, there isn't much between the sides. And when two such teams face each other, more often than not, things get too close for comfort even for those watching from home. Funny things happen, but going by the form displayed by these two, a close contest is on the cards.
In the batting charts of this season, there is none from Mumbai or Delhi in the top five run-getters. When that happens and the teams still occupy the top spots on the points table, you can assume that they are finding runs from a number of players instead of depending heavily on one or two. That's a sign of good teams and Delhi and Mumbai are showing they fall in that category. There is still a long way to go, but it will be a surprise if either of these fail to make the last four.
Other than usual suspects Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, Mumbai get runs also from the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who can both be match-winners on their day. Delhi, too, have several who can do that. Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis have done the job so far and their team is top of the table despite Shimron Hemyer and Shikhar Dhawan yet to make telling contributions.
What sets Mumbai and Delhi apart, however, is bowling. It's not often noticed under the barrage of sixes, but teams with stronger attacks stand a better chance of doing well in tournaments like this. All teams have power-hitters. Teams with the resources to contain or dismiss them are the ones who usually come up trumps when things get close. Mumbai have done well and Delhi are doing well now because they have paid attention to bowling.
In contrast with the batting charts, Mumbai have three in the top five on the list of wicket-takers. Jasprit Bumrah is getting sharper with each outing, like he does in the IPL. Trent Boult and James Pattinson are taking wickets at sub-eight economy rates. Together, these three have accounted for 30 batsmen so far. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is not far behind either. With the Pandya brothers and Pollard, Mumbai have many bowling options in the XI.
Delhi are not as well off in bowling as Mumbai, but they have Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada. On his day, the South African can be a one-man army with the pace and life he extracts from flat pitches. Anrich Nortje is making it perhaps the best new-ball pair of this IPL with Rabada. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel form an ideal spin duo, where the latter stands out for his astonishing economy rate of 4.5 from five matches.
The fifth bowler, an Indian fast bowler to be specific, remains a concern for Delhi. Harshal Patel (3 games), Ishant Sharma and Avesh Khan (1 match each) have not been able to do the job so far. Stoinis as the sixth option has also been expensive. This is one chink in the Delhi armour that might become decisive in close contests. Will Sunday be that day?