IPL 2020, Match 51: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals- Match Prediction

The Mumbai Indians (MI) will face the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday afternoon at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai for match 51 of IPL 2020. Both the teams will be targeting a top-two finish for the playoffs.

Both teams are coming off contrasting results in their last game. While MI on the back of Suryakumar Yadav’s high-quality inning defeated RCB by five wickets, DC slumped to an 88-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. MI is the first team to qualify for the playoffs, while DC can mathematically still be ousted.

Suryakumar Yadav once again demonstrated his form and class this season and proved why he should be on the flight to Australia. Mumbai Indians sit comfortably at the top of the points table with 16 points and are almost assured of a top-two finish. Barring Rohit Sharma’s injury, it is little for MI to be concerned about.

MI bowlers staged a strong comeback against RCB as Bangalore collapsed from 131/2 to 138/6. Trent Boult has been phenomenal with the new ball; however, he has leaked runs at the death. James Pattinson was expensive against RCB and Mumbai might be tempted to bring back Nathan Coulter Nile. Rest, the MI team is the most stable team of all.

On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals were blown away in batting and bowling department by Sunrisers Hyderabad as the Shreyas Iyer led side suffered an annihilation by 88 runs. After a dominant start in the tournament, they have tumbled to a three-match losing streak in the second half. DC would want to win the game and confirm their playoff spot before thinking for the top two positions. However, it won’t be easy as they are exposed to several frailties in the last couple of weeks.

Their major concern is the form of Shikhar Dhawan’s partner; be it Prithvi Shaw, who may come back, or Ajinkya Rahane. Their middle-order batters are not taking up enough responsibilities.

Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, and Shimron Hetmyer all have been guilty of getting out by playing a rash shot. Rishabh Pant hasn’t been at his destructive self. Pant, omitted from the national limited-overs team, has refrained from playing his attacking cricket which is, in turn, costing him and his team.

Their bowling looks settles, apart from their befuddling decision to include Tushar Deshpande continuously even after being expensive match after match. DC’s hopes will once again lay heavily on the shoulder of their bowling attack.

IPL 2020, Match 51: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals- Match Prediction

Mumbai bowlers, especially their pacers will look to pounce on a fragile Delhi batting line-up. Also, with or without Rohit Sharma, the MI batting lineup is as threatening as they have ever had. DC meanwhile have plenty of things to sort out, from making changes in the eleven to recover from their loss against SRH mentally. The prediction is that Mumbai will thump on a low on confidence Delhi team.

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