Mumbai Indians are back on the road in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 after three home games. The three-time champions are in the capital city and will face Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. MI will head into the contest with confidence after a win in their last match, however, DC are in-form as well with wins in their last three games. Both teams are also level on points in the standings, making second spot the reward for the victors on Thursday.

Ahead of the match, Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting discussed MI’s approach since the game against DC will be our first away match in some time. “(We’ll approach the game) how we've approached every game so far. We've played well up until this point. We've had a lot of home games. Now it's time to go on the road for four games straight and hopefully get the ball rolling tomorrow. These wickets we're going to be facing in the next couple of weeks probably would feel differently as we've come from home. So, (from) this afternoon we're trying to adapt to these conditions, what we do every year and go from there,” Cutting told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

He added: “I think the good thing is that we've played every team this season except Kolkata already so we sort of know what every team will bring and Delhi in particular, they were our first opponents in this edition of the IPL. So, we've been keeping a close eye on how they've been playing their cricket both home and away. We'll take that into consideration and play and aim to take match points tomorrow.”

The 32-year-old admitted being uncertain about the pitch, which has been slow at Feroz Shah Kotla this year. “Yeah, every team has a home ground advantage and when you don't have that, teams can sniff that out. So, we've certainly been looking at that but tomorrow is a whole new game. Especially with this (overcast) weather around, you really don't know what the wicket is going to produce,” he said.

Cutting also dismissed suggestions that players will have one eye on the World Cup with the provisional squads being announced and the tournament fast approaching. “Not really (a distraction) because yes, the World Cup’s starting in a couple of months’ time, but the IPL is first and foremost and that's just as important a competition at this point of time and that's what we're focusing on. Yes, the World Cup teams will be in the air from around the world but again those games won't start for another month or two,” he opined.

When asked if players can play more freely now with most provisional squads announced, Cutting said: “Yes to an extent but to be honest… we'll be playing fairly freely anyway. So that's the way twenty-twenty is. If you don't play freely, it probably doesn't happen for you.”