The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has reached the finals stage with Delhi Capitals ready to take on four-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai.

Getting into the match, Rohit Sharma and company will fancy their chances given the 3-0 tete a tete advantage they hold against Delhi this season. However, Shreyas Iyer has battled his way into the finals after getting off on a dream start and a maiden IPL title will be worth the journey of a team that seen some stars fall to injuries. Big names like Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada will be involved in the final match, making it a tussle of giants.

The three key player battles to keep an eye on are:

1) Quinton De Kock vs Kagiso Rabada

There could be no better battle than the one between two South African lovers of sheer pace. While Quinton De Kock has amassed 119 runs at an average of a little less than 40 against Delhi Capitals this season, Kagiso Rabada will fancy the chances of dismissing his national colleague with a stingy bouncer right into the helmet. Rabada hasn’t dismissed De Kock this year, one main reason being Iyer only introducing his lead pacer in the death. However, with Rabada’s powerplay spell doing the job in the Eliminator, the management would want to expose Quinton De Kock to their best as soon as possible.

2) Jasprit Bumrah vs Marcus Stoinis

Three matches between the teams and Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Marcus Stoinis on two instances. While the Aussie all-rounder has been dominating bowling attacks across teams this IPL, against Mumbai, it is Jasprit Bumrah’s variations he will have to look out for. Jasprit with 27 wickets, the best bowling average this season would fancy bowling to Stoinis in the tad end of the innings, but if the latter opens, field restrictions might play a role. Stoinis averages close to 40 as an opener and has scored more than 1500 runs at the top. Delhi would want their one match old tact to fire and burn Jasprit Bumrah’s yorkers with it.

3) Shikhar Dhawan vs Trent Boult

Dhawan has scored two noughts versus Mumbai in three meetings during the 2020 IPL. Trent Boult and company have employed sharp swing to trouble the Delhi opener and the Kiwi being the master of swing is expected to be precise as ever. Trent Boult has claimed six wickets in 60 balls against the Capitals and with the Dubai wicket offering considerable swing, he’ll like the chances of sending Dhawan back to the dugout. The Delhi opener on the other hand would want to get back the four time champions during the quest to attain his maiden orange cap. Shikhar is just 67 runs away from becoming the top scorer of the season, the only one with a chance to beat KL Rahul.