Champions Mumbai Indians will start the first qualifier as firm favourites
The top four were identified after much suspense and drama. The unit that possessed the best balance took their spot rightfully at the top. If results in the league stage were an indicator, Mumbai Indians will start the first qualifier as firm favourites.
What sets the defending champions apart is their ability to demolish attacks from any situation or phase in the game. Imagine a top-order that is functioning smoothly and big guns like Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya coming in at six and seven. No opponent can take it easy at any point; such is the depth and strength of Mumbai’s batting.
The team should be back in full strength against Delhi. In Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, the new ball department is in very safe hands. The spinners have been par and add their athletic fielding; Mumbai become the toughest team to beat, man to man.
Delhi, on the other, hand have been blowing hot and cold. For a team that dominated the first half of the league, the wheels did come off a bit. The over reliance on Shikhar Dhawan at the top and the lack of stability if and when skipper Shreyas Iyer fails have become too difficult to mask.
Mumbai are more used to these moments and they know how to win crunch games. They have the players who rise to the occasion and who have done it regularly in the past.
If they have to stay in the hunt, Delhi should get their combination right. Batting has been a bit of hit and miss while the bowling department has done well if they get the combination right. For Delhi to upstage Mumbai this evening, they will be hoping on exceptional individual performances rather than trying to match their opponents one to one.
Teams chasing have had it better of late but the playoffs usher in a different kind of pressure. Runs on the board could have a better value. We have seen in the past how these last four games can be cruel to teams in form. It should be an exciting game between the two sides who showed better resilience than the others.