Advance by Ganesh chandrasekaran
More than 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 cricket action. That in itself would count as a success for the logistical battles overcome to get the tournament going.
After an entertaining league stage in which the teams fought until the last day to try to level up, the second stage has had a good level of predictability in the competitions, despite the presence of some quality individual performances. And there is a possibility that the final has a similar story.
The capitals of Delhi have met the Mumbai Indians three times this season and have been beaten comfortably each time. They have still proven to be good enough to make it to the final, beating all other teams in the competition at least once. But how can they break their Mumbai curse? That is the big question that will have to be answered if we want to see a title winner for the first time.
A couple of key factors that are necessary to set this in motion would include how they overcame Trent Boult’s threat against the new ball. Higher order vulnerability to swing has twice pushed Delhi to a point of no return in the power play alone against Mumbai this season. Taking a cue from what the Rajasthan Royals did earlier in the season, if Delhi overcomes this threat, it would be the first step in exposing some of Mumbai vulnerabilities. Marcus Stoinis’ latest success at the top thus adds a new and unproven dimension to this key contest. Will Delhi be prepared to push this aggressive intent a bit further by making other decks in the batting order if necessary, and give MI a taste of her own medicine?
The other great strength of Mumbai is the middle order, anointed as the engine room that includes the two brothers Pandya and Kieron Pollard. Most of the time, one of this trio along with a well-established first-rate hitter has pushed the game away from the oppositions in the final overs. The score rate of 12.68 in the last four overs is unmatched in the history of the IPL. With the stakes on the one hand, the key question remains how the opposition picks up its game.
Yorkers are probably the toughest balls to hit, but if done right, as T Natarajan showed, even this engine can run out of fuel. Delhi got something right against Hardik Pandya in the first qualifier, but the performance levels were still not up to the required level. The focus will be on Rabada, Nortje and their execution of this high risk but high reward plan.
Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav’s form, Ishan Kishan’s bravado, and Rohit Sharma’s threat as well as surpassing Jasprit Bumrah add to the above challenges. And it is clear that Delhi will have to do their best, and more, to beat one of the greatest IPL teams of all time if they are to claim their first title.
When: Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
What to expect: Delhi has shown that it has a clear preference for defending targets, while Mumbai has been adept at both.
Team news
Capitals of Delhi
They have little reason to change a combination that worked so well just a day ago. The only consideration might be to add an additional pacemaker 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 to leave the field after throwing just two overs in first qualifying. He said, “Trent looks good. He’s going to have a session with us today and we’ll see how it goes. He stopped pretty well the last few days. So, fingers crossed, I hope 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 are the second highest count by a bowler in a single IPL edition.
– Jasprit Bumrah’s 27 wickets are the highest count by an Indian bowler in a single IPL edition
– In the last four IPL seasons, the team that won Qualifier 1 had a 3-0 lead over the winner of Qualifier 2 who reached the final. Only once did he change that record when MI beat RPS in the 2017 final.
What they say:
“The preparations will be the same as usual. When the big games approach, it is important that you stick to your routines. It is a great game, [Mumbai Indians] we are a great team. They have been very good, constant throughout the year. And they have beaten us twice. But so did the sunrises. So we’ll see what happens, we just bring our best cricket brand. And if we play the best we can, I think it will be good enough. ” Marcus stoinis after DC’s victory in the second qualifier.
“There will be a psychological advantage, yes. But what we have seen in IPL is that every day is a fresh day, every day there is a new pressure and every match is a new match. So you can’t think too much about what happened in the Past. Of course, you can have a lot of confidence in the past. But you can’t stop at it. You have to go ahead and think about what you’re going to do in that particular game. Rohit sharma reluctant to make too much of the fact that MI has had the stick over DC in the league stage this season.
Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Saurabh Tiwary, James Pattinson, Dhawal Kulkarni, Aditya Tare, Mitchell McClenaghan, Chris Lynn, Jayant Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai
Capitals of Delhi Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Marcus Stoinis, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Praveen Dubey, Harshal Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Daniel Sams, Mohit Sharma, Alex Carey, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Tushar Deshpande, Lalit Yadav
