Delhi Capitals will be taking on Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final on Tuesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Shreyas Iyer-led side defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in Qualifier 2 on Sunday to reach their first-ever summit clash in IPL.

DC put up a complete performance against SRH, scoring 189/3 after batting first and then restricting the opponents to 172/8 to win the knockout contest. Their opponents in the final, Mumbai have already won the IPL title on four different occasions and have defeated DC thrice already in the 13th edition of the cash-rich T20 competition.

Still, DC boast a number of T20 stars who can turn the match with their performances on any given day. As the team from the national capital gets ready to take on the defending champions in the final, we take a look at their journey to the summit clash, pre-season expectations, most impactful players, and more.

Pre-season expectations

Delhi Capitals brought an end to seven years of disappointment in 2019 by reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2012. They eventually lost to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 and failed to progress to the final. Nevertheless, having made the last four the previous season, DC were expected to once again advance to the playoffs in the ongoing season of IPL. However, not many would have predicted a final for them ahead of consistent sides like CSK and SRH.

IPL 2020 league stage performance

DC finished the league stage of IPL 2020 at the second spot in the table with 16 points from 14 matches. Here's the result of those 14 matches.

DC (157-8) beat KXIP (157-8) in Super Over in Dubai
DC (175/3) beat CSK (131/7) by 44 runs in Dubai
DC (147/7) lost to SRH (162/4) by 15 runs in Abu Dhabi
DC (228/4) beat KKR (210/8) by 18 runs in Sharjah
DC (196/4) beat RCB (137/9) by 59 runs in Dubai
DC (184/8) beat RR (138 all out) by 46 runs in Sharjah
DC (162/4) lost to MI (166/5) by 5 wickets in Abu Dhabi
DC (161/7) beat RR (148/8) by 13 runs in Dubai
DC (185/5) beat CSK (179/4) by 5 wickets in Sharjah
DC (164/5) lost to KXIP (167/5) by 5 wickets in Dubai
DC (135/9) lost to KKR (194/6) by 59 runs in Abu Dhabi
DC (131 all out) lost to SRH (219/2) by 88 runs in Dubai
DC (110/9) lost to MI (111/1) by 9 wickets in Dubai
DC (154/4) beat RCB (152/7) by 6 wickets in Abu Dhabi

IPL 2020 playoff performance

DC lost in Qualifier 1 to Mumbai by 57 runs but bounced back in Qualifier 2. Here's the result of DC's two matches in the playoffs.

Qualifier 1: DC (143/8) lost to MI (200/5) by 57 runs in Dubai
Qualifier 2: DC (189/3) beat SRH (172/8) by 17 runs in Abu Dhabi

Impact players

Shikhar Dhawan has been the star with the bat for DC with 603 runs at an average of 46.38 and a strike rate of 145.65. He has also smashed two centuries. DC's bowling has been their biggest strength this season with Kagiso Rabada leading the wicket-takers list. He has scalped 29 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.79. His economy rate is 8.23.

Memorable wins

DC began the tournament on a great note and won seven out of their first nine games but then got into a rut as they lost four consecutive matches. The losing streak also threatened their progress to playoffs but Delhi managed to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in their final league game to reach the last four. Anrich Nortje took three for 33 as RCB were restricted to a total of 152/7. Shikhar Dhawan scored 54 and Ajinkya Rahane made 60 as they won the match by six wickets.

After losing Qualifier 1, they pulled off another surprise win against Hyderabad, who were in red-hot form, in Qualifier 2 to reach their first-ever final.

DC's squad

Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Daniel Sams, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Anrich Nortje, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande

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