Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be playing their final league match on the last day of the group stage matches, and will be up against David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad.
While, MI have nothing to lose from Tuesday’s clash, and will finish at the top of the points table irrespective of the result, for SRH this will be a do-or-die clash.
They have to win on Tuesday to become the last team to qualify for the play-offs. If they lose, they will bow out of IPL 2020 and KKR will go instead to the play-offs.
Former Mumbai Indians player Pragyan Ojha believes that the team will still play ruthlessly on Tuesday and will want to go into the playoffs with a win.
“Over the years I have seen that MI do not want to lose any game. That’s how they play their cricket. They have qualified and everything else is done, but they will be ruthless on Tuesday,” Ojha told Sports Today.
“When I was part of that dressing room, I have seen that they want to win each and every game. Even if they go for a charity game, they want to win it. That’s how they are. They always want to be No. 1. Their preparation is such.”
When asked if there was a chance of MI deciding to give some of their key players some rest before the play-offs, Ojha said that he doubted if they would do that. However, he also said that if there was a player who could be given some rest, it had to be pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
“Maybe they can give Bumrah a break, and Dhawal Kulkarni can come in. They will want Bumrah to be in top form in the playoffs. He will also be playing in Australia and may not get much of a rest later. But others, I don’t think they will rest,” the spinner said.
