Delhi Capitals against defending champions Mumbai Indians
Former India batsman Sanjay Bangar feels Delhi Capitals have a good mix of players in their team and thus would be holding a slight edge over defending champions Mumbai Indians when the two teams face each other in IPL 2020 Qualifier 1 on Thursday evening.
Delhi are coming into the match on the back of a comprehensive six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last league match of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Mumbai, on the other hand, faced a crushing 10-wicket defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad in their last league encounter.
"Let me tell you one thing, when it goes to the Playoffs, no matter what has happened in the past, it's on the day which team plays better cricket. Delhi Capitals, I agree, might not have the experience of playing a lot of Playoff matches, but what they have undergone this season is very critical," Bangar said while speaking on Star Sports show Game Plan.
"Success early on, failures were in the latter half of the tournament, and then a very good match to qualify for and play in the second spot," he added.
For Delhi, opener Shikhar Dhawan has been in prolific form, having amassed 525 runs from 14 matches so far in the tournament. And in Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, they have world-class pacers in the bowling arsenal. Rabada sits at the top of the list of leading wicket-takers with 25 scalps while Nortje has scalped 19 wickets so far.
"I believe that the kind of combination they have of good, young, experienced Indian batsmen, a battery of overseas fast bowlers and Indian spinners, that is a good mix of experience, pace, youth and then if there's one team that can challenge Mumbai Indians, it's Delhi Capitals. So, be aware Mumbai Indians, it's not going to be easy," said Bangar.
Delhi lost to Mumbai on both the occasions in the league stage and thus they would be eager to avenge those losses at the Dubai International Stadium.
