Seasoned MI the last hurdle in DC's pursuit of maiden title

Over a month and a half after starting a tournament that was shrouded in uncertainty, the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League is set to conclude with a lot of focus on the cricket action. That in itself would count as a success for the logistical battles overcome in getting the tournament underway.

After an entertaining league stage that saw teams fight until the last day to try and go a level up, the second stage has seen a fair level of predictability in the contests, despite the presence of some quality individual performances. And there's a possibility that the final could feature a similar storyline.

Delhi Capitals have thrice faced Mumbai Indians this season and have been beaten comfortably each time. They've still shown themselves to be good enough to reach the final, beating all other teams in the competition at least once. But how can they break their Mumbai jinx? That's the big question that'll need answering if we are to see a first-time winner of the title.

A couple of key factors that are necessary to get this going would include how they overcome the Trent Boult threat against the new ball. The top order's vulnerability against swing has twice pushed Delhi to a point of no return just in the powerplay against Mumbai this season. Taking a cue from what Rajasthan Royals did earlier in the season, if Delhi overcomes this threat, it'd be the first step in exposing some of Mumbai's vulnerabilities. The latest success of Marcus Stoinis at the top thus adds a new, and untested dimension to this key contest. Will Delhi be ready to push this aggressive intent a little more by making other shuffles in the batting order if necessary, and give MI a taste of their own medicine?

Mumbai's other big strength is the middle order, anointed as the engine-room which includes the two Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard. More often than not, one of this trio along with a well-set top order batsman has taken the game away from oppositions in the final overs. The scoring rate of 12.68 in the final four overs is unmatched in the history of the IPL. With the stakes raised by one side, the key question remains how the opposition lifts their game.

Yorkers are probably the toughest balls to execute, but if done well, as T Natarajan showed, then even this engine can run out of fuel. Delhi got some of it right against Hardik Pandya in the first qualifier, but the execution-levels were still not at the level required. The focus will be on Rabada, Nortje and their execution of this high-risk but high-reward plan.

The form of Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav, the bluster of Ishan Kishan and the threat of Rohit Sharma besides overcoming Jasprit Bumrah all add to the challenges above. And it's evident that Delhi will have to bring their best, and then some, to beat one of the finest IPL teams of all-time if they are to clinch their maiden title.

When: Tuesday, 10th November at 19:30 IST

Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium

What to expect: Delhi have shown that they have a clear preference for defending targets while Mumbai have been adept at both.

Team News

Delhi Capitals

They have little cause to change a combination that worked so well just a day ago. The only consideration could be bringing in an extra pacer in place of Praveen Dubey.

Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Marcus Stoinis, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Pravin Dubey/Harshal Patel

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma was cautiously optimistic about Boult's recovery from the injury that forced him off the field after bowling just two overs in the first qualifier. He said: "Trent is looking good. He is going to have a session with us today and we'll see how it goes. He pulled up pretty well in the last few days. So, fingers crossed, hopefully he plays."

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Did you know

- Kagiso Rabada's 29 wickets is the second-highest tally by a bowler in a single IPL edition.

- Jasprit Bumrah's 27 wickets is the highest tally by an Indian bowler in a single IPL edition

- In the last four IPL seasons, team winning Qualifier 1 had a 3-0 head-to-head lead over the winner of Qualifier 2 coming to the final. Only once did that record change when MI beat RPS in the 2017 final.

What they said:

"The preparations will be the same as usual. When the big games are coming up it is important to stick to your routines. It is a big game, they [Mumbai Indians] are a great team. They've been really good, consistent all year. And they've beaten us twice. But so did Sunrisers. So we'll see what happens, we'll just bring our best brand of cricket. And if we play our best, I reckon that'll be good enough." - Marcus Stoinis after DC's win in the second qualifier.

"There will be a psychological advantage, yes. But what we've seen in IPL is that every day is a fresh day, every day there is new pressure and ever game is a new game. So you can't think too much about what has happened in the past. Of course, you can take a lot of confidence from the past. But you can't dwell on it. You've to move forward and think about what you're going to do in that particular game." - Rohit Sharma unwilling to attach too much importance to the fact that MI have had the wood over DC in the league stage this season.