IPL 2020: When and where is the final being played?
The Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad will be fighting it out on Sunday in Qualifier 2 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for a place in the IPL 2020 final.
While the loser of tonight’s contest will crash out of the tournament, the victors will seal a date with the Mumbai Indians in the summit clash. The final will take place on Tuesday (November 8) at the Dubai International Stadium, starting 7:30 PM IST (6:00 PM Local).
Notably, for the first time in 13 years, the IPL final will be played on a weekday since the sponsors wanted to make the most of the Diwali week.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the IPL 2020 playoffs schedule on October 25, with Dubai the host for both the Qualifier 1 and final. Interestingly, Dubai got a lion’s share of the league matches as well – 24 as compared to Abu Dhabi (20) and Sharjah (12).
The governing body would have also taken into account that the Dubai pitch has still remained batting-friendly, and has the capability to throw up even contests between bat and ball when compared to the other two venues.
Defending champions MI guaranteed themselves a place in a 2nd consecutive IPL final after beating DC by 57 runs in the Qualifier 1 on Thursday. The Shreyas Iyer-led side, however, will get another shot at making their maiden IPL final appearance tonight.
The IPL 2020 final will be preceded by the final of the ongoing Women’s T20 Challenge, as the Trailblazers take on the Supernovas at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium tomorrow (November 9).
DC need to jolt SRH early to make their first IPL final
While the bowling attack has remained a crucial factor in SRH restricting the opposition to below-par totals, their opening combination has also been a force to reckon with.
If David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were taking the bowlers to the cleaners in the early part of IPL 2020, Wriddhiman Saha (184 runs in last 3 league games) played a critical role in the Hyderabad-based franchise making the playoffs.
However, it remains an added advantage for the Capitals that Saha injured himself prior to the Eliminator and was replaced by Shreevats Goswami, who couldn’t replicate the former’s success and got out for a duck against RCB on Friday.
Thus, the key to DC making their first-ever IPL final would be to make early inroads into the SRH line-up and put in an all-round effort with the bat to thwart one of the best bowling attacks in IPL 2020.
Check out IPL 2020 schedule