The top two sides of the league stage, Mumbai and Delhi, will be squaring off each other in the first qualifier of the Indian T20 League 2020.
Mumbai has topped the table, winning 9 matches out of 14, while Delhi finished at the 2nd spot with 8 wins.
Match Timings: Nov 05, 7:30 PM (IST)
Team Preview
The Indian T20 League 2020 playoffs start from Thursday with the first qualifier between table-topper Mumbai and 2nd placed Delhi. The winner of this game will stay in Dubai to play the final on November 10. The losing side will play the eliminator's winner in the second qualifier on November 08.
Delhi’s journey has been a roller-coaster ride with ups and downs, and somehow, they found the much-needed victory in their final league stage game against Bangalore to clinch the second spot in the table. Before this victory, they lost four consecutive matches, and the losing margins portray their downfall in the second half of the tournament. With 7 wins from the first 9 matches, they won just one game from the next five. The top-order has been inconsistent, but the half-century in the previous game from Rahane added some relief to Ponting. Prithvi Shaw might be dropped, and Rahane can open with in-form Dhawan. In middle-order, Iyer and Pant’s poor numbers are big worrying signs. The downfall in the bowling unit raised questions, and Delhi is looking like a struggling unit. Rabada and Nortje are the team's big assets in pace-attack, but Delhi would see more support from its spinners on Dubai’s slow track. Ashwin has been exceptional, and Iyer can try him in the powerplay to give Axar enough advantage in middle-overs.
Meanwhile, Mumbai has faced their worst defeat of the season, but they rested their two prominent pacers Boult and Bumrah. The duo is the heart of Mumbai’s bowling unit. Rohit Sharma made a comeback after recovering from his injury. After the defeat against Hyderabad, Mumbai needs to focus on their batting which collapsed despite having all the main players in the squad. However, the defending champions are going favourites in this match. Delhi’s downfall in the last two weeks put Mumbai ahead in this game. If Boult and Bumrah take early wickets in the powerplay, Mumbai can trouble Delhi’s middle-order, which is the weakest part. Any extra change in the squad is unexpected, as dropped players will be recalled.
Pitch Report
Dubai’s surface is a bit dry and has no extra grass on it. The track is good for batting, but it offers significant help to spinners in middle-overs. Chasing would be an ideal call. It’s a surface of 160-170, which can be defined as a strong total.
Possible XI
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar
Delhi
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw/Shimron Hetmyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams/Harshal Patel, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Key Players
Mumbai
Ishan Kishan
In league stage – M: 12, Runs: 428, Avg: 47.55
Jasprit Bumrah
In league stage – M: 13, Wickets: 23, Avg: 15.73
Delhi
Shikhar Dhawan
In league stage – M: 14, Runs: 525, Avg: 47.72
Anrich Nortje
In league stage – M: 13, Wickets: 19, Avg: 21.10
