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Delhi Capitals stand-in captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai Indians in their do-or-die clash for the final spot in the playoffs on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League.
The high-stakes fixture will determine the fate of the final playoff spot left after Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings guaranteed their positions. If MI triumphs against Delhi, Hardik Pandya's side will become the fourth and final team to qualify for the playoffs. If DC defeats Mumbai but the five-time champions bounce back against Punjab Kings and take two points, Delhi would need to win against PBKS to earn their qualification. Delhi will miss its designated skipper, Axar Patel, in the high-stakes fixture. Besides Axar, KL Rahul has been moved to the impact subs list, possibly a tactical move, considering the number of bowlers Delhi has fielded in its playing XI. After winning the toss, Delhi Capitals stand-in captain Faf du Plessis revealed the reason behind Axar's absence and said, "Really sick in the last two days. We'll miss him today. Playing a good team today, we are up for it. We haven't been at our best in the last 5-6 games. Every day there's a new opportunity. It looks a bit dry, but we're chasing. Axar is not there. Axar is two players, and it's difficult to replace him. We'll see how it goes." Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said during the toss, "It's been under covers for a couple of days. We would have liked to bowl as well, but it's okay. Every game is important from now onwards. We want to play our best cricket. The boys are very excited. (Best yet to come?) Yes, definitely, I don't think we've had a complete game. They (crowd) have been fantastic. They have backed us even when we weren't on a roll. One change, Mitch comes, back, Bosch misses out." Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Abishek Porel(w), Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar Delhi Capitals Impact Subs: KL Rahul, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Karn Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju. (ANI)
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