IPL 2020 Final, MI vs DC: Preview, Playing XI Predictions, pitch and weather report

Tags: Indian T20 League 2020, Delhi XI vs Mumbai XI, Final at Dubai. Nov 10, 2020, Mumbai XI, Delhi XI

Published on: Nov 10, 2020

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Played amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will finally reach its conclusion when defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 final at Dubai on Tuesday. MI, undoubtedly, go in as favourites having been there and done that multiple times in the past. For Delhi, this will be their maiden IPL final. Also, they have lost all three matches played against MI earlier in the tournament. So that definitely makes them underdogs.

The fitness of fast bowler Trent Boult and the form of skipper Rohit Sharma are among the few worrying aspects for Mumbai. Boult got Mumbai off to a sensational start in the first Qualifier, sending back Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane for ducks in the first over itself. However, he did not come back to bowl after finishing his first spell of 2 for 9. It was later revealed that he had suffered a groin injury.

As for captain Rohit, he has just not looked his original self after returning from injury. In two matches that he has played since returning to the playing eleven, the MI skipper has only managed scores of 4 and 0. With the mystery over his omission from the Australian tour solved following his inclusion in the Test squad, Rohit would look to bat freely against Delhi in the big final.

Overall, MI are in great shape. Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have been in fantastic form while Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have smashed the big hits at will. In the bowling, Jasprit Bumrah has been exceptional yet again. Rahul Chahar had a rare bad game in the first Qualifier. Otherwise, he has played a fine hand while Krunal Pandya has chipped in with both crucial runs and wickets.

If we look at Delhi’s prospects, they have a Herculean task on hand. They are yet to beat MI in IPL 2020, but so was the case with SRH before Qualifier 2. So there is hope for DC. Of course, Mumbai are a much stronger unit in comparison to Hyderabad. The match-winners for Delhi will have to stand up and be counted yet again. Shikhar Dhawan fell without scoring the last two times DC met MI. However, his 78 against SRH should lift his confidence.

The move to shift Marcus Stoinis up the order worked wonders against SRH. He would look for another good knock against MI. Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Shreyas Iyer though will have to lift their game. The decision to bring back Shimron Hetmyer against RCB was an excellent one, and paid dividends. In the bowling Kagiso Rabada will be keen to keep the Purple Cap while Anrich Nortje must be raring to do well after a couple of average games. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin too will look to bring all his experience into play.

Head-to-Head Record: After 27 IPL matches, MI have a 15-12 win-loss record. They have beaten DC all three times in IPL 2020.

MI Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult/James Pattinson

Delhi Predicted XI: Marcus Stoinis, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Pravin Dubey/Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada

Scorecard

Pitch Report

The Dubai track has runs in it. The last time these sides met here, MI posted 200. Capitals could only manage 143/8 in return.

Weather conditions

The weather at Dubai will be cool again, with temperature in the late 20s.

--Renin Wilben

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