And then there were two. After more than 50 days of hectic action, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians have sliced through the pack to battle in Tuesday’s final, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Pure match-winners
The occasion is especially sweet for DC, which makes its first appearance in an IPL title match. In opener Shikhar Dhawan, pacer Kagiso Rabada and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis — the heroes of the victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 — DC has three pure match-winners.
Dhawan is 67 runs behind K.L. Rahul in the race for the Orange Cup, while the fiery Rabada is leading the wickets chart. Stoinis, who achieved only moderate success in previous seasons with other teams, has elevated his game. Promoted to open on Sunday, Stoinis made a quick 38 before picking up three crucial wickets to scuttle the SRH chase.
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With cerebral spinner R. Ashwin and speed merchant Anrich Nortje also in the ranks, DC boasts of a highly skilful bowling unit.
Cool, confident veteran
If DC is a newcomer to the bright lights, MI is the cool, confident veteran. A four-time champion, making a sixth final appearance, MI has ‘been there, done that’. The only thing the side hasn’t managed is a title win in an even year, something it will look to set right on Tuesday.
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MI possesses a great record against DC, having registered comfortable victories on the three occasions the sides have met this season. The most recent win, which came just a few days ago in Qualifier 1, will surely haunt DC.
After Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya blasted MI to 200, DC stumbled in embarrassing fashion. The team lost the first three wickets without putting a run on the board and eventually rolled over, losing by 57 runs.
Best new-ball pair
Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, who scalped six wickets between them in the DC wipeout, form the best new-ball pair in the IPL. If they hit the mark on Tuesday, DC could once again fall out of contention even before the PowerPlay is completed.
MI’s batting line-up is no less impressive. Suryakumar, de Kock and Kishan have been consistent, all making in excess of 450 runs this season. Hardik and Kieron Pollard are devastating at the death, more than capable of repairing any early damage. And then there is skipper Rohit Sharma, who may have had an average run thus far, but is too good a talent to be taken lightly.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, James Pattison, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Prince Balwant Rai, Quinton De Kock, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwary, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult.
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (c), Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey, Mohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Lalit Yadav, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Tushar Deshpande, Rishabh Pant, Harshal Patel, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams.
Match starts at 7.30pm IST.
