With their playoff berth secured, defending champions Mumbai Indians would look to add to the woes of Delhi Capitals, who are on a three-match losing streak, and consolidate their position at the top when the two teams face each other in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Saturday.

Chennai Super Kings’ six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday sealed MI’s playoff berth. The defending champions, who are currently on 16 points and with an excellent net run-rate, are almost certain to finish in the top two.

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Despite three defeats on the trot against Kings XI Punjab, KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively, DC are placed third with 14 points from 12 games, courtesy their consistent run in the first phase of the league.

The three defeats should come as an eye-opener for DC as they cannot afford to take things lightly and need at least a win to seal their play-off place. But it won’t be an easy task as their last two games are against the top two teams on the table – MI and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

IPL 2020 playoffs qualification scenarios: MI secure top four finish, KKR’s chances take a hit

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If DC lose their last two games, it is entirely possible that KXIP will go past them on NRR even if they finish on 14 points and in such a case, the Delhi side could be eliminated if other teams on 14 have a higher NRR.

Going by paper, MI definitely have a clear-cut edge over DC and having confirmed their last four berth, the title holders would be playing without any pressure.

Regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed the last three games due to a left-leg hamstring injury, is unlikely to take the field again on Saturday, but there is no substantial word from the MI management in this regard yet.

DC results in IPL 2020

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points
DC vs KXIP 20 Sep, Sun (1930) Dubai DC won Super Over after match was tied 2
CSK vs DC 25 Sep, Fri (1930) Dubai DC won by 44 runs 4
DC vs SRH 29 Sep, Tue (1930) Abu Dhabi DC lost by 15 runs 4
DC vs KKR 3 Oct, Sat (1930) Sharjah DC won by 18 runs 6
RCB vs DC 5 Oct, Mon (1930) Dubai DC won by 59 runs 8
RR vs DC 9 Oct, Fri (1930) Sharjah DC won by 46 runs 10
MI vs DC 11 Oct, Sun (1930) Abu Dhabi DC lost by 5 wickets 10
DC vs RR 14 Oct, Wed (1930) Dubai DC won by 13 runs 12
DC vs CSK 17 Oct, Sat (1930) Sharjah DC won by 5 wickets 14
KXIP vs DC 20 Oct, Tue (1930) Dubai DC lost by 5 wickets 14
KKR vs DC 24 Oct, Sat (1530) Abu Dhabi DC lost by 59 runs 14
SRH vs DC 27 Oct, Tue (1930) Dubai DC lost by 88 runs 14

MI results in IPL 2020

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points
MI vs CSK 19 Sep, Sat (1930) Abu Dhabi MI lost by 5 wickets 0
KKR vs MI 23 Sep, Wed (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 49 runs 2
RCB vs MI 28 Sep, Mon (1930) Dubai MI lost in Super Over  2
KXIP vs MI 1 Oct, Thu (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 48 runs 4
MI vs SRH 4 Oct, Sun (1530) Sharjah MI won by 34 runs 6
MI vs RR 6 Oct, Tue (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 57 runs 8
MI vs DC 11 Oct, Sun (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 5 wickets 10
MI vs KKR 16 Oct, Fri (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 8 wickets 12
MI vs KXIP 18 Oct, Sun (1930) Dubai MI lost in Super Over 12
CSK vs MI 23 Oct, Fri (1930) Sharjah MI won by 10 wickets 14
RR vs MI 25 Oct, Sun (1930) Abu Dhabi MI lost by 8 wickets 14
MI vs RCB 28 Oct, Wed (1930) Abu Dhabi MI won by 5 wickets 16

While MI roared back to form after thrashing RCB by five-wickets in the last game, there are problems aplenty for DC. MI are unlikely to tinker with the playing XI, with their top-order firing on all cylinders.

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Quinton De Kock would be hoping to continue his sublime form despite a rare failure against RCB and so would Ishan Kishan, who has been a revelation.

Suryakumar Yadav, who was ignored for India’s tour of Australia despite his impressive form this season, made a statement with a match-winning 79 against RCB the other day. He along with De Kock and Kishan can take any attack to cleaners.

The Virat Kohli-Suryakumar Yadav stare-off: Should the Indian captain show more restraint?

Saurabh Tiwary though needs to convert his starts into big scores, while Hardik Pandya, stand-in captain Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya are known for their six-hitting prowess.

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MI bowlers made a spectacular comeback against RCB after the hammering they received against Rajasthan Royals.

Jasprit Bumrah (20 wickets) and Trent Boult (17 wickets) have been lethal both upfront and at the death, while James Pattinson (11 wickets) and spin duo of Rahul Chahar (14 wickets) and Krunal (5 wickets) has provided great support in the middle overs.

DC, on the other hand, need to pull up their socks quickly after a hat-trick of defeats. Their batsmen crumbled under pressure against SRH in their last game and were bundled out for 131 while chasing an imposing 220-run target.

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Shikhar Dhawan (471 runs) has been in blazing form for DC with two centuries but needs support from the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, who has replaced Prithvi Shaw, skipper Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis.

The South African pace duo of Kagiso Rabada (23 wickets) and Anrich Nortje (15) has been exceptional for DC, barring an off day against SRH. Tushar Deshpande and Ravichandran Ashwin will also need to find their best in the all-important clash with MI.

Head-to-head

Mat DC wins MI wins DC win% MI win%
DC vs MI 25 12 13 48 52

DC squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Shreyas Iyer Ishant Sharma Axar Patel Rishabh Pant
Prithvi Shaw Amit Mishra Harshal Patel Alex Carey
Shikhar Dhawan Avesh Khan R Ashwin
Ajinkya Rahane Sandeep Lamichhane Lalit Yadav
Shimron Hetmyer Kagiso Rabada Marcus Stoinis
Keemo Paul Daniel Sams
Mohit Sharma
Tushar Deshpande
Anrich Nortje

MI squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Rohit Sharma Dhawal Kulkarni Hardik Pandya Ishan Kishan
Sherfane Rutherford Jasprit Bumrah Jayant Yadav Quinton de Kock
Suryakumar Yadav James Pattinson Kieron Pollard Aditya Tare
Anmolpreet Singh Mitchell McClenaghan Krunal Pandya
Chris Lynn Rahul Chahar Anukul Roy
Saurabh Tiwary Trent Boult Digvijay Deshmukh
Nathan Coulter-Nile Prince Balwant Rai Singh
Mohsin Khan

Match starts 3.30 pm IST and will be broadcast live on Star Sports network / Disney+ Hotstar

(With PTI inputs)