Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals (DC) will look to continue his form as his side takes on Mumbai Indians (MI) in a high-voltage Qualifier 1 of IPL 2020 on Thursday, November 5 in Dubai. There is a lot to play for as the winner of the tie gets to directly qualify to the final while the loser gets to play a knockout game- Qualifier 2 against the winners of Eliminator 1.
On the eve of Qualifier 1, Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan said Delhi Capitals would look to take advantage of the Rohit Sharma situation, saying there will be a bit of pressure on the Mumbai Indians captain who is returning from an injury lay-off as he missed four matches owing to a hamstring injury.
Shikhar Dhawan: Rohit Sharma Will Be Under Pressure Having Just Returned From Injury
Rohit Sharma omission raised quite a few eyebrows when he walked out for the toss for Mumbai Indians against SunRisers Hyderabad in their final league game on Tuesday. Rohit Sharma had suffered a hamstring injury and had been spending time on the sidelines as Kieron Pollard became the stand-in skipper. He was subsequently not picked for India’s tour of Australia as BCCI said it would monitor Rohit Sharma’s recovery.
Rohit Sharma made a sooner-than-expected recovery from his hamstring problems and took the field for Mumbai Indians against SRH as his chances of travelling to Australia have brightened.
However, the Mumbai Indians skipper managed just four runs from seven balls before getting caught at mid-off on Tuesday.
“Of course, Rohit is a very good player. But after having not played matches, you never know if he is in good touch. He must have recovered well, my best wishes to him. As an opposition, we have to see if he is in touch, or if he is confident. Of course, when a player returns from injury, there will be pressure and we are going to take advantage of that,” Shikhar Dhawan told the press on Wednesday.
Shikhar Dhawan has been in fine form in IPL 2020. The left-handed opener is 3rd on the batting charts with 525 runs averaging 47.72, including 2 back-to-back hundreds and 3 fifties, in 14 matches. He is the only player to score 2 consecutive tons.
Shikhar Dhawan: Relaxing Knowing Plans To Tackle Likes Of Jasprit Bumrah Having Watched Videos
Delhi Capitals have been heavily reliant on the Indian opener, as the likes of opener Prithvi Shaw and Shimron Hetmyer failed. He is confident of taking on the well-oiled Mumbai Indians attack comprising of pace stalwarts Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and James Pattinson.
When asked if he has any special plans to deal with the Jasprit Bumrah-Trent Boult threat, Shikhar Dhawan said: “I am relaxing, keeping myself fresh. I have seen them enough times and watched their videos again. I already know my plans.”
“I am looking forward to going and performing and winning the game for our team.”
Mumbai Indians emerged successful against Delhi Capitals in both the league outings having won by five wickets and nine wickets. Still, Shreyas Iyer led Delhi would want to start afresh and deliver on the big day against the defending champions, who are heading into the Qualifier on the back of a 10-wicket loss against SunRisers Hyderabad.