Till their four consecutive losses, Delhi Capitals, for most part of IPL 2020, appeared to be the team that were as consistent and on a par with Mumbai Indians, who have so far defended their title robustly.

This season, though, Mumbai have prevailed over the Capitals on both occasions and in the last meeting, they had handed a nine-wicket thrashing to Shreyas Iyer and Co.

However, the Capitals came back on track with a smart showing against Royal Challengers Bangalore to confirm their place in the playoffs, while Mumbai got a hammering from Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league game on Tuesday.

Contrasting results, thus, even things out to a fair extent for Thursday’s Qualifier 1 where Mumbai and the Capitals once again cross swords at the Dubai International Stadium for a place in the final.

The loser will get another chance when they take on the winner of Friday’s eliminator in Sunday’s Qualifier 2.

Make no mistake, the earlier results are unlikely to have any bearing on Thursday’s clash. “I don’t think they (Mumbai) have an upper hand,” Capitals’ in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan said.

“We’ve got a quality team. We just have to play good cricket and have to be very clear with our plans. If we manage to do that, we can certainly win.”

Kagiso Rabada File picture

If Dhawan, currently third on the list of highest run-getters in this IPL, fires again, the Capitals will find the road that much smoother. Having said that, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah are set to be back in the XI for Mumbai, so Dhawan’s job won’t be all that easy.

“Trent and Jasprit have been outstanding. We knew not only with back-to-back fixtures, but also from travel back and forth (from Dubai to Sharjah), that it was an opportunity for us to give those guys a break, knowing that we have got at least two games coming up and possibly three,” said Mumbai bowling coach Shane Bond, defending the decision to rest the duo for the Sunrisers game.

With his hamstring “absolutely fine”, Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma would be looking to make a statement with the bat. But whether he manages to regain the rhythm is the question, for he never looked comfortable during his short stay at the crease versus the Sunrisers.

Importantly, this is an area where Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje should look to hurt Mumbai. If they can get Rohit and Quinton de Kock early, they can create more pressure on Mumbai’s strong middle order.

“I think we are the team that nobody really wants to play, because they know if we play well, we can do some damage,” Bond asserted.

Today’s match

• Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, Dubai (7.30pm IST)