Tuesday will be the first time an IPL final has been held on a business day. It is also the first time Delhi Capitals will appear in one. His opponent, the Mumbai Indians, have the “psychological advantage” according to their captain Rohit Sharma. Whoever wins the title will create history: Mumbai by winning it for a phenomenal fifth time; the Capitals their first IPL crown. What are the tricks they will try to stay on top?
Dhawan-Stoinis vs. Bumrah-Boult
No other team has suffered from another joint ball attack from Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult more than the Delhi Capitals. Bowlers from the Mumbai strike, who are also among the top three wicket bearers in this IPL, have bagged 11 top-order wickets from the capitals in three matches. The next highest on their record are the Chennai Super Kings with eight wickets.
Whether they hit first or chase, the Capitals’ opening pair, Shikhar Dhawan and Marcus Stoinis, will have to see the initial outburst from Bumrah and Boult. Yes, it will be a test, but if they manage to keep the Capitals alive in the first handful of overs, they can take advantage of that safety approach first later with their power hitters.
However, that will not be easy. Just five days ago, at Qualifier-1, both Dhawan and Stoinis were affected by Bumrah’s fierce pace and precision. Dhawan left with an embarrassed smile after saving the toes of a 142 km / h Yorker, one of the installments of this IPL, which caused him to go crazy. That was the second time Bumrah had Dhawan this season.
He then knocked Stoinis off the stump with a long ball. It was the fourth time he had fired the Australian off-roader at the IPL. But the two starters from the capitals will target a new guard in Dubai in the final.
Iyer needs to hit hard early
Shreyas Iyer has been the second best player in the Capitals after Dhawan. However, he has not made a strong statement with the bat. He has a complete game, but he hasn’t had the kind of impact that Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan have had in Mumbai.
While Iyer’s overall hit rate is 122, the hit rate of his first 10 balls drops to 95.5. The corresponding number for Suryakumar’s first 10 balls is 140. Kishan also starts slowly, hitting 98 of his first 10 balls, but has managed to turn slow starts into high-impact scores. His overall hit rate is significantly higher than Iyer’s at 144. Iyer’s positive pace could inject energy into the Capitals’ middle order, which has been shaky during the second half of the tournament.
Can Rahul Chahar recover?
In Qualifier-1, the legged player broke away from Stoinis with his two non-wicketless overs going for 35. Rahul Chahar has just one wicket in 10 overs against the Capitals this IPL. He also dropped the ball that night, but his captain convinced him to take the team off the field after the victory. But Chahar should know that the Capitals hitters are not the most fluid against the leg twist. In fact, Sharma might even allow Chahar one more in the Powerplay to challenge Stoinis, who has lost his wicket half a dozen times to the leg twist in the IPL.
Will Mumbai just hit first in the final?
Mumbai has chosen to hit first in four of the five finals it has played in. They have won the title every time. The only time they chased and lost was in 2010 against the Chennai Super Kings. Overall, in the 12 IPL finals, the teams that hit first have been champions eight times.
It will be interesting to see what the Capitals will do if they win the draw considering Mumbai won twice chasing during the league phase and then finished with a strong victory after being put at bat in Qualifier 1.
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