High stakes give edge to old rivalry

No one present at the DY Patil Sports Academy just under three weeks ago could have thought of it as anything more than a huge upset. The Delhi Daredevils had journeyed west with four wins from their first five games and the label of likely tournament winners. The Mumbai Indians had barely left the starting block. After four straight losses and the loss of Harbhajan Singh to a slap-and-ban double-play, they had managed a victory at Eden Gardens. But with Sachin Tendulkar still nursing a groin injury, few gave them a chance against a Delhi side boasting Virender Sehwag's strokeplay and Glenn McGrath's precision.

In the event, one of Delhi's McGrath clones, Mohammad Asif, had a poor outing and cameos from Sanath Jaysuriya and Shaun Pollock helped Mumbai to 162. And though Sehwag came out intent on blasting his way to the target, wickets for Pollock and Ashish Nehra stemmed the angry tide. Once Sehwag fell, the decline was swift, with the last five wickets adding just 14 runs. Nehra and Pollock starred on the scoresheet, but the likes of Dominic Thornely, Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje had also done their bit in strangulating a line-up full of potential matchwinners.

At the time, the result was considered a blip. Looking back, it may be seen as a decisive fork in the road. Mumbai, confidence coursing through the veins after knocking off a top side, stitched together a six-match winning streak, ended only by a last-ball defeat to the King's XI Punjab. The Delhi slide encompassed three more losses before victory against the freefalling Deccan Chargers revived the team's hopes.

When the top three of Gautam Gambhir, Sehwag and Shikhar Dhawan click, Delhi look like they could pulverise anyone. Get them out fairly early though, and you're into a middle that's as fragile as Frank Bruno's chin. Dinesh Karthik and Manoj Tiwary haven't had many opportunities, while the overseas contingent - AB de Villiers, Shoaib Malik and Tilllakaratne Dilshan - haven't impressed much.

The bowling has been similarly top-heavy. McGrath and Farveez Maharoof have both been magnificent, but a clearly unfit Mohammad Asif has been one of the flops of the competition, conceding more than nine an over. And after bright starts, Rajat Bhatia and Yo Mahesh have gone for more than eight an over. Batsmen also appear to have worked out Pradeep Sangwan, one of the stars of India's Under-19 side.

Sehwag himself has been the worst culprit with the ball, and his 22-run over undoubtedly cost them the rain-affected game against Punjab after McGrath had once again provided the perfect start. And with Daniel Vettori now leading New Zealand in England, all the spin eggs are in Amit Mishra's basket. So far, he's proved up to the task, but how will he respond if Tendulkar or Jayasuriya take him on?

Mumbai have revived their campaign so beautifully because the load has been shared. Jayasuriya has reprised his mid-90s glory years with the bat, but there's also been sterling support from the likes of Abhishek Nayar and the now-departed Dwayne Bravo, one of four Mumbai bowlers to have at least 10 wickets in the competition.

With Tendulkar joining Jayasuriya at the top of the order, you could forgive most new-ball bowlers for losing sleep. But if anyone can stymie that Simon-and-Garfunkel combination, it's McGrath, who enjoyed considerable success against both at the highest level. His counterpart for Mumbai, Pollock, will also be quietly confident of his chances against Delhi's marauding top three.

This isn't quite a quarter-final, but it's as close as the league will get to one. If Mumbai win, the remaining six league games will be of importance only in deciding the semi-final pairings. A Delhi triumph would push Mumbai to the brink. They would then need to beat the Rajasthan Royals at Fortress Jaipur (where no team has come close) and then see off the Bangalore Royal Challengers, in a rearranged fixture in Bangalore, to ease Delhi out of contention.

The match has extra spice because of the traditional cricket rivalry between the two cities. Mumbai have undoubtedly been Indian cricket's top dogs, but for two decades leading into the 1990s, Delhi were one of the teams that was a persistent thorn in the side. And after years of underachievement, last season's Ranji Trophy success suggests that cricket in the capital is on the upswing again.

Ravi Shastri, who played his part in several of those '80s dogfights, is one of several experts who insist that Mumbai will be devilishly hard to beat with a home crowd behind them in the last four. They have to get there first though. Delhi have good reason to feel aggrieved about the rain that has brought some respite to a baking-hot city, but at least they know where they stand. Should Chennai lose at home to the table-topping Rajasthan in the early game on Saturday, Delhi will go into their fixture knowing that a win will pile the pressure on both the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai, who finish off with fixtures away from home.

The Feroz Shah Kotla hasn't quite been a citadel - Chennai pulled off a last-ball win, and Punjab prevailed thanks to Duckworth and Lewis - but Delhi's batsmen have been a frightening proposition in familiar conditions. They need to unveil one more no-fear performance, and hope the bowlers don't bottle it like they did in the two losses that have pushed them to the precipice.

Then again, if Jayasuriya and Tendulkar turn up in smash-bang-wallop mode, all the bottles, lucky charms and incantations in the world won't help. Not even in the City of Djinns, not even with McGrath taking the new ball.