Big picture

Rohit Sharma vs Rishabh Pant. The India captain against his possible successor (that's what Delhi coach Ricky Ponting thinks - he finds their journeys similar too). A predictable narrative but potentially a blockbuster one. The two big Indian names aside, these are two strong sides that have made sure to fill their squads well at the auction. Mumbai may be the five-time champions, but Capitals have been the team to beat in the last couple of years. It's five-all between these teams since 2018, but Capitals did the double over Mumbai last season. Both the sides have solid top orders and enviable fast-bowling depth, and a number of Under-19 stars in their squads to groom.

But Capitals will be missing some of their biggest overseas names for this game. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh are fulfilling their national commitments, Anrich Nortje is continuing his recovery from an injury, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman are in quarantine. This means they only have two overseas players around - Tim Seifert and Rovman Powell - and will have to rely on inexperienced back-ups. That makes it Advantage Mumbai.

On that front, Mumbai don't too much to worry about, but key man Suryakumar Yadav is out with a hairline fracture in his right hand.

It was a disappointing season for Mumbai in 2021, but they would be looking to return in Mumbai Indians style. They have managed to assemble their strong core - comprising Rohit, Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah - which has been their biggest strength over the seasons. Kishan, who will open with Rohit, has superb numbers at that position - 555 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 156 - in the IPL. The middle-order has Pollard and Tim David - they both have struck at 163 since 2020 in T20s. The death bowling has got a massive boost with the addition of Tymal Mills. Their only big concern as of now remains the lack of experience in the spin department - and possibly enough powerplay-specialists among the bowlers.

In the news

Just two overseas players to pick from, which means both Seifert and Powell should play for Capitals. In fact, Pant has already said that Powell will bat at No. 4 or No. 5 this season.

Suryakumar linked up with the team after being released on Saturday by the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where he had been in rehab for the past few weeks. How soon he can get in the middle, though, remains to be seen.

Likely XI

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Tim Seifert, 3 KS Bharat/Mandeep Singh, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Chetan Sakariya

Mumbai Indians: 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Anmolpreet Singh/ Dewald Brevis, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Tim David, 7 Sanjay Yadav, 8 Tymal Mills, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Strategy Punt

Pant in the middle, doing just Pant things? Call Bumrah. Bumrah has dismissed Pant the most number of times in T20s - six in 12 innings. Since Pant's IPL debut in 2016, it's been a one-sided rivalry between the two. Pant has also struck at just 112 against the quick.

Stats that matter

• The last time Mumbai won their opening game of any IPL season was in 2012

• Fast bowlers have picked up more than 75% of the wickets at this venue - Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium - in the IPL

• Axar Patel needs to strike five more times to tally 100 wickets in the IPL