Mumbai Indians face a new look Daredevils

It will be a battle between the formidable Mumbai Indians batting and a new look Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

The Mumbai Indians boast of a star-studded line-up while the Daredevils have done an overhaul of their side for the fourth edition.

The visitors come into the tournament with four retained players in Sachin Tendulkar, who will lead the side, his India teammate Harbhajan Singh, Sri Lanka’s pace spearhead Lasith Mailnga and big hitter from the West Indies Kieron Pollard. The home team has retained one player, with Virender Sehwag back as captain.

The presence of Tendulkar is a huge plus for any team and after ending as the World Cup winner on the sixth attempt, the master blaster will be eying the maiden IPL title to add another feather to his cap.

The team’s middle-order features talented Rohit Sharma, who was bought for a whopping $2 million during the auction in January. It will be another chance for Sharma to cement his place in the national side after missing out on a World Cup berth.

The side has eight foreign players this time around and the dangerous Andrew Symonds is one of them. The once devastating Australian batsman is past his prime but will be keen to better his ordinary performance of last year when he played with the Deccan Chargers. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga will carry the burden in the bowling department.

The Daredevils batting, however, looks a bit inexperienced with the absence of big names. Having said that, the opening pair of Sehwag and Australian David Warner has the potential to smash the best of bowling attacks out of the park.

The team has four all-rounders, including Irfan Pathan, who was bought for a surprise $1.9 million. Pathan will be hoping to fire with both bat and ball to stake his claim in the Indian team.

The bowling looks more settled with South African pacer Morne Morkel leading the attack. Domestic players Vikas Mishra, Rajesh Pawar alongside South African Roelof van der Merwe form the core of the spin department.

The two teams share three wins each from six matches played between them in the last three editions.