The Dubai Capitals - owned by the GMR Group - take on Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in match 22 of the International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday, January 30.

Both teams are coming off respective defeats in their last matchups. While the Knight Riders fell to a four-wicket loss at the hands of Sharjah Warriors, the Capitals were 12 runs short of defeating Desert Vipers.

A win on Monday will keep Dubai Capitals' faint playoff hopes alive, as they could still go fourth on the points table with a strong net run rate. On the flip side, another loss for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders would only deepen their ongoing struggling form.

Here are some talking points:

It's now or never for the Capitals

Going into the last three league games, Dubai Capitals must win each match with a superior run rate to make it into the playoffs. While they ought not to take the matches in the pipeline lightly, the Rovman Powell-led side could re-start their winning momentum against an ADKR team that has been inconsistent throughout ILT20 2023.

Capitals' batting needs to brush off pressure

Despite having one of the top batting units in the competition, the batting order of the Dubai Capitals has struggled to keep up with pressure in chasing situations.

Given the stakes at hand, the likes of Powell, Sikandar Raza, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Dasun Shanaka will need to step up and show why they are T20 stalwarts with the bat.

On a pitch that is said to not be kind to bowlers, the Dubai Capitals' batting could go all guns blazing against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Monday.