IPL 2020, Qualifier 1: Analysing the talking points as MI demolish DC to qualify for final

The Qualifier 1 of the playoffs between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) concluded in MI's win by a massive margin of 57 runs. As they do so, MI direct to the final, while DC still have a chance to make a comeback, in Qualifier 2. Though the match was quite one-sided, we have a plethora of points to talk about.

The Qualifier 1 saw a clash of Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dubai, where MI dominated and won by 57 runs. This was the first time that the two locked horns with each other in the playoffs. Here we highlight the talking points of the match.

Shaky MI opening 
Quinton de Kock looked in a magnificent touch, while skipper Rohit Sharma could not break his record of poor performance in the playoffs. Sharma departed without scoring anything, while de Kock managed to smash 40 runs off 25 balls.

Scintillating Suryakumar Yadav
The number three batsman for MI, Suryakumar Yadav yet again proved himself. Understanding well what the situation demanded, he consolidated well in the middle and hit 51 runs off 38 balls. In his innings, he smashed two sixes and six fours.

Kishan-Pandya partnership
The 60-run stand between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya gave MI the much-needed thrust in the death overs and aggregated a total of 200 at the end of their innings. Kishan scored 55 runs off just 30 balls, while Pandya hit 37 off just 14 balls and their stand saw raining boundaries.

Ashwin’s seniority 
Truly, experience pays off in the turbulent times. Off all the DC bowlers, who were expensive, Ravichandran Ashwin's skills paid off. Besides maintaining an economy of 7.2, he alone scalped three of MI's wickets.

Flop show by DC star batsman
Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah showed their efficiency with the ball and struck three wickets in just 1.2 overs. Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane departed without scoring anything.

Marcus Stoinis’s and Axar Patel’s batting knock
It was the DC all-rounders' day on the field. Marcus Stoinins scored 65 runs off 46 balls and smashed three sixes and six fours. Axar Patel, who, at a moment mounted pressure on MI, scored 42 runs of 33 balls. However, in the absence of the initial good start, they could not drive DC to the victory.

Bumrah-Boult bowl show
The duo’s bowling skills and repertoire makes them the leading world bowlers. Trent Boult, who just bowled two overs, following which he met with a little niggle, maintained an economy of 4.5 and scalped two major DC wickets. Jasprit Bumrah again stole both the limelight and the purple cap, as he did an excellent job by scalping four wickets, besides maintaining an economy of just 3.5 runs in his spell.