The much-awaited IPL 2020 final is here. It took 59 matches, multiple super overs, heartbreaks, a rare Chennai Super Kings off-season, and above all a league successfully run amidst a raging pandemic to get here and we cannot wait for an epic clash scheduled to be played out in the Dubai International Stadium on 10 November 2020.
The two teams involved i.e. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have traveled through two very different paths to get to the same destination. While Mumbai have been clearly dominated by their opponents in most of their encounters, Delhi faltered in the latter part of the tournament losing 5 matches in a row.
But having overcome the 5-match losing streak, Delhi must be credited for the courage they showed against an in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second Qualifier of the tournament.
Delhi Capitals have made it to the IPL finals for the first time in their and the league's 13-year-old history. As Hetmyer said and most of the players would agree, this a dream come true for the Delhi Capitals. The franchise owners have shown tremendous faith in the team management and the players and have taken some superb calls to build a team around an Indian core that has reaped huge rewards this season. Most of the players in the playing XI have shown that they belong and Delhi would be very happy that they have found a good combination in both the batting and the bowling departments.
Most of their players are in good form and the guys have nothing to lose as making it to the finals in itself is a huge achievement. So as Iyer had said in the post-match presentation ceremony after the SRH game, they have to play without fear, without any hesitation, and as freely as possible. That is going to be their best bet.
In this entire tournament, the one player that has not hit the top gear right from the start is skipper Rohit Sharma. Just when he was coming into his own, an injury kept him away from the playing XI and broke his flow of runs. He made a comeback from his injury in the first game of the playoffs stage and laughed at his luck after he was trapped in front by Ravi Ashwin in the first ball.
But everyone knows that Rohit is a big game player. Hence him coming back to form and leading his team to the first-ever title defence and record the fifth season in the IPL is really important.
Match Number - 60
Date: 10 November 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT
Venue: Dubai
Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar
A fresh pitch is going to be used for the final in Dubai. The freshness could be used by the fast bowlers early on especially if Bumrah and Trent Boult are let loose in the game. The batsmen might find support from dew later in the second innings and if we are to believe the last couple of games on this ground, that could come in handy. However, it has rained in the past few days in Dubai, in that case, the chance of dew might be reduced as well. In this utterly confusing situation, winning the toss and chasing could be a way out if the captains are not very sure about the weather.
While there have been heavy showers in Dubai over the past few days, the sky is predicted to be clear for Tuesday. The chances for precipitation are 10% with a wind speed of 21km/h. The humidity has increased up to 59%, therefore, the chances of dew have decreased.
Mumbai played their best XI in the last game, however, Trent Boult got injured and therefore if there is a change in the squad, it would be a forced one and James Pattinson might come in place of the ace New Zealander.
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
The Delhi team would have no change as far as the current team is concerned. All their priorities are set hence chances of expecting a change in a winning team would be zero.
Marcus Stoinis, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Ishan Kishan(wk), Suryakumar Yadav Hardik Pandya, Marcus Stoinis (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Jasprit Bumrah
Captain: Marcus Stoinis
Vice Captain: Shikhar Dhawan
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