Finally, the most anticipated final is here as Mumbai Indians take on the Delhi Capitals at the Dubai International cricket stadium. It’s the top two sides of the tournament that go up against each other after a tussle of more than a month as both teams have battled it out against 6 other teams to reach this point this season.
Talking about Mumbai Indians they have had an unforgettable season as they finished the league stages with 9 wins tallying to 18 points as they stood first in the points table whereas Delhi Capitals having lost momentum in the end stages of the tournament still managed to qualify for the finals as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier.
It is highly unlikely Delhi Capitals or Mumbai Indians will look to make any changes to the side as they would want to keep the winning run going from the last match in the playoffs. If there are no injury issues barring Trent Boult then it would be almost certain that both teams would go unchanged in the finals.
Let’s take a look at the five key players to watch out for when Mumbai Indians lock horns with Delhi Capitals at Dubai International Cricket Stadium:
1. Shikhar Dhawan
The opening batter has looked in phenomenal touch this season for the Delhi Capitals as he’s been their leading run-scorer of the season. Dhawan had scored two back to back centuries this season before following it up with two back to back ducks.
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If Delhi Capitals want to avenge the Mumbai Indians in the finals, Dhawan should be the man who should take the responsibility upfront of batting through the majority of the inning, helping other batsmen like Shreyas Iyer and Marcus Stoinis to capitalize in the middle order.
2. Jasprit Bumrah
The leader of the pace bowling attack of Mumbai Indians had a patchy start to the 2020 IPL season. But ever since he started opening the bowling for Mumbai Indians in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah, Bumrah has looked in good mojo and expected to continue the same form going ahead in the season.
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In the match against Delhi Capitals in the first qualifier, Jasprit Bumrah was the stand out bowler for the Mumbai Indians side as he picked up four wickets to seal Mumbai’s place in the ultimate final.
3. Marcus Stoinis
The hard-hitting all-rounder from Australia had been batting in the middle order finishing matches for the Delhi Capitals franchise. But in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier, Stoinis was promoted up the order as the opener of the side alongside Shikhar Dhawan where he along with Dhawan notched up a 86 run partnership.
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Going into the finals, Stoinis will be looking to replicate the same as it is pretty certain that Delhi would stick with him as the opener as he would be providing the explosive start to the franchise.
4. Suryakumar Yadav
If there is one batsman who has taken the responsibility of batting through the innings for Mumbai Indians in the absence of Rohit Sharma then it surely has to be Surya Kumar Yadav.
The former batsman has looked in fine form this season and is arguably one of the best batsmen going around in the Indian circuit. Recently Ravi Shastri was in all praise for Surya and has asked him to be patient as his time in India jersey is not far away.
5. Axar Patel
The Gujarat born left-arm spinner has been the unsung hero for Delhi Capitals franchise this season. He hasn’t been the bowler who has been picking a lot of wickets but he has been able to control and contain the opposition batsmen with economical spells.
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It is all because of Axar Patel, the like of Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin are able to pick wicket from the other end as attacking Axar Patel is slightly difficult with the line he’s been bowling this year.