Delhi Capitals have stumbled a bit in the business end of IPL 2020 and Saturday will present them with another chance to pull their campaign back on track when they face table toppers Mumbai Indians.

Having been brilliant for most of the tournament, Capitals are not really in deep trouble despite a hat-trick of defeats. They have 14 points and need to win one of their remaining two games to make the playoffs cut.

Mumbai Indians have no such worries, having already made the grade with 16 points.

Capitals are drawing confidence from terrific performances in the first half of the tournament. To quote Ajinkya Rahane: “I think we started off really well, won seven out of nine games initially, and then the last three games.

“It’s all about staying positive. Three losses don’t make us a bad team. It’s all about playing to our strength and backing each other.”

Middle matters

Mumbai Indians’ strong middle and lower-middle order give the openers a bit of a cushion, feels Quinton De Kock.

With the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya to follow the openers, De Kock was asked if it helped him play more aggressively. The South African replied: “Having an experienced middle order, just in general, helps out in any situation.

“But obviously, knowing that they are behind you, the likes of SKY (Surya), Polly (Pollard), Hardik (Pandya), you just bat to the situation and if you’re still lucky enough to be out there batting with them, it’s important to give them strike because they’re the bigger strikers of the ball.”