Time: November 5, 7: 30 PM IST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Pitch report
The pitch at Dubai has only gotten better for batting as the tournament progressed. The chasing team has won three of the last five matches: the highest chased score is 178 for 4 by Chennai.
Power players
We will witness not only a battle between two of the finest fast bowlers of the generation but also the top wicket-takers of the season: Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah. While Rabada’s 25 wickets are superior to Bumrah’s 23, Bumrah’s economy of 6.9 is superior to Rabada’s 8.1. To make matters more interesting, Rabada has a four-wicket haul and Bumrah has taken consecutive three-wicket hauls at Dubai.
Shikhar Dhawan likes scoring runs against Mumbai: his last four innings against them read 97*, 35, 69*, and 0. Overall, he has smashed 529 runs including two hundreds and three fifties and is the third-highest run-scorer of the season.
For Mumbai, Quinton de Kock has scored the bulk of the runs. His 443 runs have come at a strike rate of 138. Against Delhi, he has scores of 53 and 26.
Ishan Kishan’s last five scores read 68*, 37, 25, 72*, and 33. In fact, he has only two single-digit scores, and his average of 48 is the best in Mumbai’s camp this season.
Smart picks
Trent Boult was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling figures of 3 for 21 in the previous contest between these teams. Moreover, his 20 wickets are the third most of the season. On the other hand, Anrich Nortje has only a wicket fewer than Boult. It’s his raw pace that has been outsmarting the best of batsmen.
Suryakumar Yadav has been outstanding this season, be it rescuing his team from a difficult situation in the first innings or chasing down competitive totals. His last 4 scores read 40, 79*, 12*, and 36.
Rohit Sharma didn’t have any trouble with his hamstring in his comeback match, but he looked out of sorts in his 7-ball stay against Bangalore. Overall, he has managed 264 runs at a strike rate of 127 in 10 games.
Shreyas Iyer has not been at his best of late, throwing away his wicket despite getting good starts. He is the second-highest run-scorer for Delhi.
Hardik Pandya (241 runs) and Kieron Pollard (259 runs) have been destructive in the middle order.
Fantasy Tips
Selection: We provide Player Selection Percentage, meaning you’ll know how many people have selected KL Rahul. If his selection percentage is above 75%, you may have to think twice before leaving him out. We also provide Captain and Vice-captain Selection Percentage, helping you narrow down your choices.
Performance: There are times fantasy players overlook form over popularity. In one of the T20Is between England and Australia, only 39% picked Adil Rashid in their teams. He went on to take 3 wickets. His form before that match was incredible and many dropped him over players such as Jofra Archer and Mitchell Starc. Always keep an eye on players’ forms! For that, we provide current as well as overall stats of the cricketers, so you have all the information you need to win exciting rewards.
Toss: When India bat first, Rohit Sharma often outperforms Virat Kohli. And when India chase, Kohli is the king. Make sure you pick your team – most importantly your captain and vice-captain – based on the toss.
Keep your bias aside: The best fantasy tip, however, is to remain unbiased. Do not make MS Dhoni your captain if he’s your favourite player. Just like the man himself, keep your emotions aside and analyse the match. If you think Shane and Rashid Khan are better candidates for captaincy based on their form, go ahead. Fantasy cricket isn’t about you wanting your favourite players to score. It is a game of skill. Pick only those who you think are capable of giving you fantasy points.
Probable XIs
Mumbai: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile/James Pattinson, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah
Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje