MI v DC Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2020 match

Come the business end of the season, it was always going to be these two teams perched at the top of the IPL 2020 points table. The Mumbai Indians (MI), with their strong core that have stuck together for seasons now, taking home the trophy on multiple occasions. The Delhi Capitals (DC), on the other hand, have put together a solid Indian contingent, arguably among the best in the league on paper.

Cricket, as a sport, is not played on paper, of course. And while the Capitals showed a lot of promise at the start of IPL 2020, the fire seemed to die out as they suffered four consecutive defeats before a win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ensured they would play in the first qualifier instead of their opponents.

The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have seemed leagues ahead of their competition for most part of the league. Starting the season with two losses in their first three games, the Rohit Sharma-led team turned things around by posting eight wins in their next ten games, before the defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, in a game that was inconsequential to them.

One of the perks of finishing in the top two, of course, is that these two teams go head-to-head with a place in the IPL 2020 final at stake. And both these teams, over the course of the tournament, have shown that they are both worthy of that spot.

The league-ending horror run aside, the Capitals have easily been among the top sides in the tournament. And now, the only thing standing in between them and a shot at IPL glory are 11 Mumbai Indians-shaped obstacles.

With the Dubai International Stadium playing host to a game that allows the winning team a guaranteed place at the finale on November 10, set to take place at the same venue, audiences (at home, of course) could be in for a cracker of a Mumbai v Delhi match.

IPL 2020: MI v DC Match Prediction

Jasprit Bumrah is currently involved in a battle for the Purple Cap with Kagiso Rabada.

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has been one with several stories to tell. Whether it was the Rajasthan Royals ‘doing a Tewatia’ against the Kings XI Punjab, or the Royal Challengers Bangalore slaying their bowling demons, at least temporarily.

Delhi’s story this time around, however, has been a strange one to tell. Coming into this tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, it is quite odd that we have never seen their batting unit click quite like one would have expected of them.

Although Prithvi Shaw’s 228 runs may not seem like the worst he could have done at first glance, it is the 49 runs he’s scored in his last seven innings that is worrisome. Delhi’s highest scorer Shikhar Dhawan finds himself in the top 3 of the Orange Cap list with 525 runs to his name. While that tally is impressive beyond doubt, 333 of those runs came in a four-game spell where the left-hander almost looked too good to be true.

DC’s has been a season defined by these inconsistencies. If Rabada’s two wickets against RCB saw the purple cap perched atop his head yet again, it was his ordinary performances in the two matches prior that saw Jasprit Bumrah borrow the coveted accessory, albeit temporarily.

Where Delhi would want to let bygones be bygones, and leave their troubles with consistency, or the lack thereof, MI will want to continue riding the momentum that they have built over the last month and a half.

Sure, they slumped to a big ten-wicket defeat at the hands of David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad the last time they took to the ground, but the game, and the result, was inconsequential.

The absence of captain Rohit Sharma in their previous four games went largely unnoticed due to the leadership skills of stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard, and the batting abilities of young Ishan Kishan, who is turning out to be a star.

The biggest takeaways from the season for the Mumbai-based franchise would have to be the performances of their left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman duo of Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan. Between them, the two have scored 871 runs with seven fifties this season.

Add to that the able support of 30-year-old Suryakumar Yadav, and you have a recipe for disaster for the opposition bowlers without even bringing up Rohit Sharma, who recently returned from a hamstring injury.

The Indians’ bowling is not too far behind either. The aforementioned Jasprit Bumrah has picked up 23 wickets this season, all after taking his own sweet time to kick into gear. Ably supporting him is the world’s number one ODI bowler, Trent Boult, and wily leg-spinner, Rahul Chahar. The two of them have 35 wickets between them, and should be more than willing to add to that tally when they go up against Shreyas Iyer and his Capitals later tonight.

Given DC’s topsy-turvy season, and the fact that MI have been the best team in the tournament hands-down, all without yet hitting top gear, it becomes that much more difficult to bet against the four-time defending champions to go one step closer to a fifth IPL title.

Prediction: MI to win today’s match.