Clash of the top 2 as Mumbai Indians face Delhi Capitals for a place in the finals of Dream11 IPL 2020

The phase of the tournament has arrived when the teams, no matter their strengths or fallacies, great runs of form, matches where they have been crestfallen will all be set aside. It’s a new start - the beginning of four games that will decide the winner of the Dream11 IPL 2020. When the Delhi Capitals take on the table-topping Mumbai Indians, the vision will be clear. Win and you go through to the final of the Dream11 IPL 2020.

When Rohit Sharma walked out for the toss, Mumbai would have breathed a sigh of relief. If “clarity” is what was being sought over Rohit Sharma’s fitness, the picture now appears a bit less foggy. With Rohit Sharma back at the helm, if there were any lingering, minute concerns over where Mumbai could possibly slip up, even they have been vanquished. Having deservedly topped the table, the Mumbai Indians being the most consistent of all the teams in the tournament. The Mumbai Indians have not lost two games on the trot this whole season, and if they hold up that record, they will be featuring in the all-important game on the 10th of November.

Mumbai have pretty much had all their bases covered. Their batting even in the absence of Rohit Sharma did not suffer. Partially because of the form of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav who rose to the occasion and delivered the goods. Partly because their bowling did its fair share, not allowing too much pressure to shift onto their batsmen. Jasprit Bumrah grew into the tournament as it progressed, and has looked his lethal self over the second half of the tournament. Mumbai have had different players contributing to their batting success - Quinton de Kock has been a mixture of solid and aggressive at the top, Suryakumar Yadav providing stability through the middle overs, and Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya playing their finishing roles to perfection. Their stability in selecting a first 11 has been their strength, using only 14 members of the squad and the 14 players have given the team management no reason to shift their eyes elsewhere.

The Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, suffered an anomalous change in fortunes. A team which had looked alongside Mumbai as one of the three top teams of the tournament in the first half, suddenly went through a patch where even buying a win seemed like trying to buy a piece of meat in a fruit shop. However, they managed to rediscover a bit of their old form in the final league game against RCB, and a win clinched a place in today’s fixture for the Capitals.

Kagiso Rabada finally picked up his first wicket in the powerplay, ending a 13-match streak without, and with it also a two-game wicketless rut. The pace bowling of the South African duo of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada has been one of the revelations of the tournament, and the two Proteans have played a major role in Delhi’s success. However, the Capitals look far from the invincible side that they were perceived a few weeks ago. Their batting is yet to completely fire. While Shikhar Dhawan has looked good at the top, the fumbling middle order will be a cause for concern.

The Capitals are yet to break the Mumbai Indians code in the Dream11 IPL 2020; Mumbai Indians have run home easy victors in both the league fixtures. Teams chasing have had an advantage over the past couple of weeks, and the fortune of the coin could well play a huge role in deciding who will rest for 4 days before they play the final, and who has to appear for a second shot at grabbing the ticket to the Dream11 IPL 2020 final.