Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates, ILT20, Today Match Prediction 20 January 2024

DC vs MIE Match Prediction & Analysis

Dubai Capitals take on MI Emirates to kick off their ILT20 campaign this season.

Both teams last met in the eliminator last season, where MI Emirates defeated Capitals to progress through to Qualifier 2. Delhi Capitals won both the league matches comfortably but faltered when it mattered in the eliminator. Getting ousted in the business end would have hurt the Capitals though, and they’d be hoping to avenge their loss with a win against MI Emirates in their opener this season.

A lot of fresh faces are going to make their debuts for both these teams on Saturday. Plenty of capped players such as the likes of David Warner, Kieron Pollard, Sam Billings, Jason Holder, Rovman Powell will be on the park representing their respective franchises, and it should be a cracking game of cricket.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

DC

MIE

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Dubai Capitals Preview

David Warner, recently sworn in as captain of the Dubai Capitals, will be leading the charge this season with a pretty new side. Only Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza and Dasun Shanaka remain from last year’s squad.

The long list of newcomers this season includes the captain himself David Warner and Kane Richardson (Australia); Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara and Sadeera Samarawickrama (Sri Lanka); Jason Holder (West Indies); Roelof Van Der Merwe (Netherlands), and a handful of other international players plying their trade globally in T20 franchises.

English players Joe Root and Mark Wood will be missing in action this year, though, as they will be playing a gruelling 5-match test series in India. Anyway, the Capitals have little to worry as they have put together a solid squad that can compete and win against some strong teams in this tournament. They’ve got fine stroke makers up top, strong power hitters in the middle, and late-order finishers who can whack the ball a long way.

With David Warner taking the reins, the Capitals will be optimistic about qualifying for the knockouts this season. His own form with the bat will be key for the Capitals if they want to get off to a flier and put their opposition under the pump straight away.

Dubai Capitals Predicted Playing XI:

David Warner (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Max Holden, Rovman Powell, Dasun Shanaka, Jason Holder, Sam Billings, Dushmantha Chameera, Kane Richardson, Roelof Van Der Merwe, and Akif Raja.

Dubai Capitals Actual Playing XI:

Rovman Powell, Sam Billings, Akif Raja, Roelof Van Der Merwe, David Warner, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dushmantha Chameera, Sikandar Raza, Jake Fraser McGurk, Rahul Chopra, Jason Holder, Paul Van Meekeren

MI Emirates Preview

MI Emirates pack a punch this season with a squad featuring plenty of attacking batsmen, versatile allrounders, and crafty bowlers including a mystery leg spinner from Sri Lanka.

Kieron Pollard, who was supposed to captain the side, is helping out MI’s franchise in the SA20 league, and is expected to be unavailable for several matches. But they’ve an able replacement in Nicky P, an enterprising T20 batsman with a lot of experience playing franchise cricket under his belt. He can turn to T20 veteran Dwayne Bravo for some tips and guidance, should he need it.

But he’s got a well-rounded team anyway: Andre Fletcher and Muhammed Waseem the star batsman from UAE are set to open the batting. Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo and Odean Smith will form the core of the middle order. Kiwi legend Trent Boult will pair up with UAE bowler Zahoor Khan to take care of the pace department, while the spin department will likely feature Caribbean bowler Akeal Hosein and a rookie mystery bowler from Sri Lanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.

MI Emirates Predicted Playing XI:

Andre Fletcher, Muhammed Waseem, Nicky Pooran (C/Wk), Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Trent Boult, Zahoor Khan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.

MI Emirates Actual Playing XI:

Ambati Rayudu, Mohammad Waseem, Will Smeed, Andre Fletcher, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Trent Boult, Zahoor Khan, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Timothy David

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch here is slightly more favourable to batsmen than bowlers, with the odd ball stopping and coming when it becomes a touch two-paced. Bowlers who are deceptive with their change of pace have had success here. No rain is predicted for the day and we should be in for a complete game of cricket with no breaks.

DC vs MIE Pitch Report

The match is happening at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Last season, this venue hosted 17 games of which 6 were won by the team batting first won and 9 by the team chasing; 2 matches were abandoned without a ball bowled.

Toss: To Bat

Dubai Capitals will opt to bat first and post a huge total on board if the coin toss goes in their favour.