Venue: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2020
BetXchange Odds:
Form
These are two sides that had contrasting IPL campaigns to end up at this point where the winner will take on the Mumbai Indians in the 2020 IPL Final. The Delhi Capitals were outstanding at the start of the year, winning seven of their first nine matches and looking every bit like a team that could claim the crown. It was Round 10 where things started to go wrong as they suffered a defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab. This was the first of four losses on the bounce – including one to their opponents here by 88 runs – before a big win in Round 14 saw them vault back into second place in the table as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has what can best be described as an up and down season until a strong run of results at the end of the year saw them vault from sixth place at the end of Round 12 into third at the end of Round 14. This was the joint highest position in the league that they had held all year (they were also in third after Round 6. Four wins from their last five – and three in a row to end the season – was then followed by a win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL Eliminator to set up this match.
Delhi Capitals
The Capitals will need to get better production from their top-order batsmen to beat a Sunrisers squad that is clearly peaking at the right time. While Shikhar Dhawan has been fantastic – he has 525 runs in 15 games – he has been let down at times by Prithvi Shaw – 228 from 13 – and Ajiknya Rahane – 111 from seven games. At least one of Shaw and Rahane has to step up and have a knock of note here.
Their bowling has been more consistent – even Shawan has four ducks to his name in 2020 – with the trio of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nrtje and Ravichandran Ashwin combining for 58 wickets. They will have their hands full in this one.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner is David Warner. A talismanic captain capable of winning a game on his own with his batting skill. He has plenty of help on this team, however, with the likes of Wriddhiman SahaJonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson all performing well over the last few weeks. Add in All-rounder Jason Holder and it is a batting attack that boasts players able to win the game further down the order than most. The health of Saha’s groin – which kept him out of the Eliminator – is worth noting here.
Best Bets
If this match had taken place a few weeks ago then all the money would have been on the Capitals. There is something not quite right with the team at this point, however, and they are facing a Sunrisers squad that is full of confidence after picking up a string of big wins. Take Sunrisers Hyderabad at 0.80 with BetXChange to win this and make their way to the final.
