The IPL 2020 Playoffs are here and the teams that get two chances to make the IPL final play each other in Qualifier 1. This is the perk of finishing in the top-2. The winner of Qualifier 1 is going to go to the IPL Final while the loser will not be eliminated. It will play the Qualifier 2 versus the winner of the Eliminator.

Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals are the two teams competing against each other in Qualifier 1 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

MI may have started their campaign with a loss against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). But the defending champions then had an incredible run which saw them win 9 matches out of 13 to occupy the top spot in the points table and with it, a place in the Qualifier 1.

While MI had to miss out on the services of Rohit Sharma in the second half of the season after the four-time IPL trophy-winning captain suffered an injury, Kieron Pollard did a remarkable job leading the side in Rohit's absence, helping MI become the first team to seal a place in the playoffs. While Rohit returned to lead the side in the final league stage game, MI lost the game by ten wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

For DC, they had an up and down season. The Shreyas Iyer-led unit marched their way to 14 points, bagging 7 wins from their first 9 games. But then, had a tumble of sorts, losing 4 successive games. However, they returned to winning ways in their last league-stage game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to finish second on the points table to set up a clash against MI in the Qualifier 1.

This is the third time when these two sides are facing each other in this tournament. In their first outing, MI defeated DC by five wickets on the back of Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav's fifties. The second meeting was more a one-sided affair as MI rode Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult's three-wicket hauls and Ishan Kishan's 72*-run blitz to seal a nine-wicket win.

The final group match that MI played and lost is not something that is going to bother them too much. Yes, the team lost by 10 wickets but it did not have Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, or Hardik Pandya in the playing eleven. All three are expected to back for Qualifier 1 and Rohit Sharma is back in the team as well. A full-strength MI team has the capability of beating any team on its day. The batting is in good hands with Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav in great form. Rohit Sharma can never be counted out either. Ishan Kishan has been in tremendous knick and the power that Pollard brings is just at a whole different level.

MI will be aware of the threat the DC poses with its bowling but be quietly confident of holding its own. The real advantage that MI has is the bowling. Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have been incredible for MI. Both of them are in the top-5 bowlers of IPL 2020 and can be counted upon to bowl at all times of the match.

With Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya, Mumbai Indians have a lot of good options for every aspect of the game. A couple of early wickets could put MI under some pressure as we saw against SRH.

We liked the change that DC made to its team composition for the previous match. It dropped Shimron Hetmyer and included Daniel Sams to get rid of the problems it was having with its fifth bowler.

It also added Ajinkya Rahane for Harshal Patel so that its batting did not suffer.

It was a bit of a risky move because Rahane had not performed well in the IPL 2020 but he scored 60 just when it mattered the most. The batting is still a bit shaky, though.

Prithvi Shaw is in poor form and there is too much of a dependence on Shikhar Dhawan. Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Marcus Stoinis have also not been scoring runs in recent matches.

MI has a very strong bowling attack and this is where DC needs to be better.

DC's bowling is excellent. It is presumably going to play Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams, Ravi Ashwin, and Axar Patel. There is nothing for the batsmen to target and they will have to try and take apart a quality bowler.

We like this small but significant revamp that DC has made. If the batsmen can get their act together, DC could be primed to reach the IPL final for the first time in IPL history.

Weather Forecast
During the match the temperature is expected to be around 27-30 degrees celcius. The forecast shows no chance of rain. The humidity is going to be as high as 56 per cent and the wind speed is expected to be around 18 kmp.

Pitch Report
The pitch in Dubai will assist the pacers as there will be some extra bounce. As the game wears on, the spinners will have a role to play. The team batting first should be pretty happy with anything over 180 runs on the board.

Toss Prediction
Teams choose to field first after winning the toss probably because of some dew that comes in later. That makes batting just a bit easier for the chasing team. Expect the team that wins the toss to want to field first.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 26
Mumbai Indians: 14
Delhi Capitals: 12

Approaching Milestones:
Suryakumar Yadav has played 99 IPL matches and if he plays the Qualifier 1, it will be his 100th IPL match.
Rohit Sharma needs 8 runs to complete 4000 IPL runs for MI.
Shreyas Iyer requires 79 runs to complete 500 runs in IPL 2020.
Ajinkya Rahane needs 69 runs to complete 4000 IPL runs.

Likely XIs:
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, James Pattinson, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, R Ashwin, Daniel Sams, Anrich Nortje

Players to Watch Out For:
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah

Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

Match Odds:
Mumbai Indians: 1.66
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2.20

SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Mumbai Indians

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 2.2
Delhi Capitals - 3.2
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 6.5
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 7

Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP