IPL Match 51 | DC vs MI | 31-Oct-2020 | 3:30 pm IST | Dubai

[Gollum]

 The only match thread and result I really care about in this IPL group stage (@Mariyam and her coterie )

 

Firstly random blah blah blah

Quote

Just under two weeks ago, Delhi Capitals were flying high having beaten Chennai Super Kings for the second time in IPL 2020. This was the team that they had lost to thrice last season, including in the qualifier which knocked them out of the tournament. For this group, the victory thus held special significance and was duly celebrated unlike other wins in the tournament. At that point, they were well on course for a spot in the final four. Or so it seemed.

But something changed post that win, which has seen the team lose steam and go on to lose three games on the trot. That they had a splendid run until then allows them to still be alive and in a good position to make it to the play-offs. But will they be able to ensure a top-two spot now? That answer is contained within the answers for a few other questions that will rankle the management.

Will Rishabh Pant find the right balance between attack and defence? Is Ajinkya Rahane still the right choice to partner Shikhar Dhawan in place of Prithvi Shaw? Is the spirited Tushar Deshpande worth persisting with despite not delivering on the promise? Can R Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada bounce back to lead the attack well again? If these questions get the desired answers for Delhi, they could get back on a roll again towards the business end of the tournament.

Out to try and extend Delhi's quandaries, Mumbai Indians - the only team that has already qualified and in the best position to finish in the top two - will have a great chance to get a psychological advantage against a potential playoff opponent. The only blip to this endeavour could be their own record at the venue. In this season, Mumbai have found it hard to get over the line in Dubai, where they've lost both their games, albeit both being in the Super Over!

When: Saturday, October 31 at 15:30 IST

Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

What to expect: All the day games in Dubai this season have been won by the teams chasing. But in the most recent one, Kohli felt that the scoreline didn't represent the true nature of the pitch. With tired pitches, can chasing still continue to be the most viable option? Expect another captain who'd much prefer to lose the toss than win it.

Team News

Delhi Capitals

For a team that is only fighting bad form largely, the management would not have too many difficult decisions to make. The couple of slots that could see a change include the opening combination and the third pacer.

Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw/Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, R Ashwin, Harshal Patel/Tushar Deshpande, Anrich Nortje

Mumbai Indians

They'd have little reason to change a winning, and settled combination unless there are niggles to manage. That'd also give them the best chance to ensure a top-two finish.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

The playoff scenarios

Delhi Capitals could qualify even if they lose both their remaining games, provided a host of other results go their way and the defeats don't dent their NRR too much. However, victories in both remaining games assures them of a top-two finish. And one win could assure them of qualification but not necessarily a top-two finish.

Mumbai Indians are assured of a top-two finish if they win one of their remaining two games. They could also finish in the top two despite two defeats if their NRR doesn't take too much of a beating.
 

 

Now the really important stuff 

 

Once upon a time all animals lived peacefully in a jungle

 

Mainly to distract Indian public from pressing matters, in 2008 came a proposal to have an annual competition to decide the strongest animal of them all, the prize being

 

Suddenly animals started turning against each other to win the coveted prize.

 

Foolish Indian public distracted, mission accomplished

 

Anyway back to jungle, front runners were 2 cunning, dastardly animals: Panther and Wolf. Both employed innovative, state of the art cheating techniques to gain a big (unfair) edge over rest of the competition

 

Both had a secret pact, pretending to be rivals but sharing all the titles....secret lovers in private, enemies before gullible public. Both also shared expenses of illegal activities like bribing match officials, IPL GC annual vacation, placing spies in other camps, manipulating results etc.

 

The Yin-Yang of IPL....In Ancient Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Makes sense?

No space for a third party, all other animals anguished, life so unfair

 

Then came a savior, a Messiah promising to break the stranglehold of the axis of evil (Panther-Wolf-GC) and delivering justice, choice of weapon fire symbolizing hellfire for the cunning trio

 

The Dragon or code name DC 

 

It immediately understood the gravity of the situation and how Bambis/Chuskis were in fact partners in crime, a fact none of the other animals had considered.

Revolutionary breakthrough!!!!!!

 

 

Starts off by crushing all opponents, topping the table

 

Panic sets in, axis of evil rattled

 

 

 

Emergency meeting

 

Where it is decided to consult a 420 yo baba from the Himalayas who specializes in eating Neem leaves, drinking Aloe Vera juice, stanning Sharmas and jinxing all and sundry. Goes by the name @Global.Baba

 

Representative image

 

Anyway the asshole baba performed black magic

 

Cursed the mighty Dragon and converted it into.....

 

Sudden drop in performance, lost 3 on the trot without much fight, chief beneficiary being wicked Wolf , anyway what happened to its partner the Panther one may ask, valid question....

It got old, hence out of contention. "Carry on without me" it told its friend before exiting the stage, searching for some 'spark' in its remaining life.

 

Emotional Wolf reminiscing about the past, good old times

and vowing to finish the task at hand as tribute to dear BFF/partner/secret lover

 

 

Now the question is whether Dragon (trapped in body of House Lizard) can break baba's curse and regain its form or even better go for the vikasit roop aka Dragon++ (Godzilla)

 

If that happens wolf is so screwed, will transform into a harmless puppy

 

Wolf will cheat no doubt, has enormous financial muscle, umpires and broadcasters in pockets, most ruthless gundas in the world, underworld connections, blessings of GC....

 

All true fans of the competition will be rooting for this to happen

 

Genuine question however....

 

Will DC be forced to throw the match because of 'Jio'? In that case....

 

More than the players this gentleman holds the key in this Dharmayuddh

 

 

 

Get ready for the match of the tournament

Edited October 31, 2020 by Gollum

[zen]

Go Wolves  

 

Promote SDP so if he plays 30 balls, MI can get 200+ if batting first   

[Global.Baba]

That baba in your pic has been mixing neem leaves with cheese and mayo

 

[Global.Baba]

2 minutes ago, zen said:

Go Wolves  

 

Promote SDP so if he plays 30 balls, MI can get 200+ if batting first   

Can he last more than 30 balls max anyways :)

[zen]

3 minutes ago, Global.Baba said:

Can he last more than 30 balls max anyways :)

 

He is not out there to tuktuk but to slam each ball out of the park .... if in rhythm, he can play even 60 balls - 50% of overs (150-200 runs just from him )

Edited October 30, 2020 by zen

[Gollum]

@Cricketics @Austin 3:!6 @asterix kindly pin the match thread. Thanks. 

[Gollum]

7 minutes ago, Global.Baba said:

That baba in your pic has been mixing neem leaves with cheese and mayo

 

Available where he lives 

[Austin 3:!6]

Prithvi Shaw should get a game

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Gollum]

1 minute ago, Austin 3:!6 said:

Prithvi Shaw should get a game

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 

Exactly. If DC wants to win the trophy Shaw must start in the XI. Rahane can never win matches, let alone tournaments. 

[bowl_out]

DC have been pathetic in recent games.. Wouldn't mind if they don't qualify..

Want RR to qualify, so I should support MI this game? 

[asterix]

Superb Match OP... I was thinking its a “give and take” match...

However as MI has already qualified I suspect Mahela might be inclined to test the bench strength. There’s a possibility Rohit might come back to warm up for the final stage matches... Also MI might take the match easy as already qualified.

 

Considering all these factors, I’ll like to support the eventual winning team which is....

Edited October 31, 2020 by asterix

[coffee_rules]

National capital will pound financial capital

[cricketfan28]

should be a good one.

[nitinbwj]

Epic thrashing coming up for DC..

[GeeGaw]

7 hours ago, Gollum said:

 The only match thread and result I really care about in this IPL group stage (@Mariyam and her coterie )

 

Firstly random blah blah blah

 

Now the really important stuff 

 

Once upon a time all animals lived peacefully in a jungle

 

Mainly to distract Indian public from pressing matters, in 2008 came a proposal to have an annual competition to decide the strongest animal of them all, the prize being

 

Suddenly animals started turning against each other to win the coveted prize.

 

Foolish Indian public distracted, mission accomplished

 

Anyway back to jungle, front runners were 2 cunning, dastardly animals: Panther and Wolf. Both employed innovative, state of the art cheating techniques to gain a big (unfair) edge over rest of the competition

 

Both had a secret pact, pretending to be rivals but sharing all the titles....secret lovers in private, enemies before gullible public. Both also shared expenses of illegal activities like bribing match officials, IPL GC annual vacation, placing spies in other camps, manipulating results etc.

 

The Yin-Yang of IPL....In Ancient Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Makes sense?

No space for a third party, all other animals anguished, life so unfair

 

Then came a savior, a Messiah promising to break the stranglehold of the axis of evil (Panther-Wolf-GC) and delivering justice, choice of weapon fire symbolizing hellfire for the cunning trio

 

The Dragon or code name DC 

 

It immediately understood the gravity of the situation and how Bambis/Chuskis were in fact partners in crime, a fact none of the other animals had considered.

Revolutionary breakthrough!!!!!!

 

 

Starts off by crushing all opponents, topping the table

 

Panic sets in, axis of evil rattled

 

 

 

Emergency meeting

 

Where it is decided to consult a 420 yo baba from the Himalayas who specializes in eating Neem leaves, drinking Aloe Vera juice, stanning Sharmas and jinxing all and sundry. Goes by the name @Global.Baba

 

Representative image

 

Anyway the asshole baba performed black magic

 

Cursed the mighty Dragon and converted it into.....

 

Sudden drop in performance, lost 3 on the trot without much fight, chief beneficiary being wicked Wolf , anyway what happened to its partner the Panther one may ask, valid question....

It got old, hence out of contention. "Carry on without me" it told its friend before exiting the stage, searching for some 'spark' in its remaining life.

 

Emotional Wolf reminiscing about the past, good old times

and vowing to finish the task at hand as tribute to dear BFF/partner/secret lover

 

 

Now the question is whether Dragon (trapped in body of House Lizard) can break baba's curse and regain its form or even better go for the vikasit roop aka Dragon++ (Godzilla)

 

If that happens wolf is so screwed, will transform into a harmless puppy

 

Wolf will cheat no doubt, has enormous financial muscle, umpires and broadcasters in pockets, most ruthless gundas in the world, underworld connections, blessings of GC....

 

All true fans of the competition will be rooting for this to happen

 

Genuine question however....

 

Will DC be forced to throw the match because of 'Jio'? In that case....

 

More than the players this gentleman holds the key in this Dharmayuddh

 

 

 

Get ready for the match of the tournament

Are you *'ing kidding me with all this bullshite?

[Laaloo]

Lmao that’s some good OP

[GeeGaw]

Time for DC to regain previous form and put a beat down on overrated MI a'holes.  MI oldies are breaking down and falling apart, our young'uns lost focus but recent importation of Russian hookers has relieved pressure and will serve well rest of the tournament.  Shaw gets 30 odd runs, Pant is due to go big.  Bowling attack should be re-charged and ready to knock fu'ckers out.

 

Let's f'ing do it boys!!!

 

d

 

 

[Mariyam]

Amazing OP

Years ago, George Orwell presciently wrote about the IPL:

 

"All animals are equal, but some (wolves) are more equal".

Edited October 31, 2020 by Mariyam

[Serpico]

When winter comes... You'll hear no lions roar... No stags grazing the fields.. No snakes in the sand... The krakens will freeze where they swim... Not even the dragons breath will warm you in your halls. Only the wolfs howl in the night... Winter is coming

[speedheat]

Hope we rest Bumrah today and treat our confrére gently.