The Mumbai Indians face the Delhi Capitals in IPL's match 27 at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Here's the analysis:
The SWOT for MI
Strengths: The MI bowling is at the top of its game. The pace trio of Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and James Pattinson has got 30 wickets. Krunal Pandya’s bowling has improved as the tournament has progressed. Rahul Chahar has got seven wickets and Kieron Pollard is doing his job of containment when he's call on to bowl.
Weaknesses: MI openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock haven’t clicked together. They both also need to find their best touch.
Opportunities: This is an opening for MI to prove that they are the best team this season. DC have become the new team to beat and are heading for a play-off spot, so MI need to send a strong message.
Threats: Every team hates to lose momentum. Both MI and DC would be eager to keep that winning flow going.
The SWOT for DC
Strengths: DC have a fiery bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have got 23 wickets. R Ashwin has recovered from his injury and is back to controlling the middle overs. He has been ably supported by Axar Patel and Harshal Patel.
Weaknesses: Shikhar Dhawan’s form has not been great. He has scored just 132 runs at an average of 22. DC’s batting needs to keep improving for the team to make a play for the title.
Opportunities: Delhi have never won the IPL but they've emerged as a strong contender in 2020. DC need to be at their best to beat the current champs.
Threats: Shreyas Iyer needs to rack a consistent string of scores. He also needs to learn not to be predictable with his captaincy.
Head to head:
Matches played: 24
Mumbai Indians 12
Delhi Capitals: 12
Last five matches (most recent first):
Mumbai Indians: W-W-W-L-W
Delhi Capitals: W-W-W-L-W
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
Prithvi Shaw, Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Kieron Pollard, R Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Jasprit Bumrah
Ground conditions
The sky will be clear. The temperature will be around 30 degrees celsius. The humidity will be about 57%.
Team news
No injuries reported from either team.
Impact player for MI
Jasprit Bumrah: The speedster has snagged 11 wickets and is MI's leading wicket-taker. He has the best bowling figures of the season with 4/20. Against a strong DC batting line-up, Bumrah’s spell will be crucial.
Impact player for DC
Kagiso Rabada: He has never gone wicketless for DC and is deadly in the death overs. If the match goes into the Super Over, there's no one better.
How to watch
The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also catch the action online on Disney+Hotstar. The match begins at 7:30 PM IST.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks