The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has had an unprecedented amount of success in its league stages. After a gruelling phase, the cricketing extravaganza is set to amplify in the Playoff stages.
The first Qualifier is scheduled between the two best sides in the competition, namely Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at Dubai.
MI topped the points table by garnering 18 points, with nine wins and five losses in the tournament. After a fabulous start to the campaign, DCs dipped at the business end of the group stages, with three consecutive defeats.
The Shreyas Iyer-led side won their last game in the league stages, to book the second place in the Playoffs. DC accumulated 16 points with 8 wins and 6 losses in the campaign, thus far.
Now, the team teams will face off against each other to book a place in the final of the prized event. Whereas, the losing side has another opportunity to qualify for the final, during the second qualifier.
The four-time IPL champions are coming off a hefty 10-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Albeit, Mahela Jayawardena and Co. decided to rest their premier starters, namely Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Therefore, MI think-tank would refrain from ringing any alarm bells before the all-important clash, especially with the return of their talisman Rohit Sharma.
Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, would be thrilled about their win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), with contributions from Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane.
The Capitals have to look for an alternative for Prithvi Shaw, who has failed to reach a double-digit score in his last five outings.
That said, DC’s bowling group found their rhythm back, with Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and the rest being economical in the game against RCB.
Barring one or two changes, DC is not expected to tamper much with their lineup while favourites MI will bring back their rested players for the all-important clash.
With a number of power-packed batsmen and the conditions on offer in Dubai, the match should be a high-scoring one.
Predicted XI:
MI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
DC:
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
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