It was revealed earlier on Sunday that Kings captain and star batsman Rahul faces surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, and he was in hospital while this match played out at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
In his absence, stand-in skipper Mayank Agarwal made a dominant 99 not out in a total of 166-6, helming the Kings innings and cutting loose when he saw fit in a terrific 58-ball knock that contained four sixes and eight fours.
Shikhar Dhawan produced the key innings for the Capitals in response, making an unbeaten 69 and finding the sort of support that Agarwal lacked, helping Delhi to 167-3, winning with 14 balls to spare.
Agarwal had required five from the final ball of the Kings innings to post what would have been just the second IPL century of his career, but he could only crunch a four down the ground rather than clear the ropes.
Kagiso Rabada had earlier taken two wickets in his first two overs, the second coming when he bowled Kings veteran Chris Gayle with a full toss immediately after being cracked for six by the West Indies batsman.
That was the first of three sixes off Rabada's bowling, but the South African paceman also removed Prabhsimran Singh and Chris Jordan while taking 3-36 in his four-over allocation.
Dawid Malan made 26 but it was ostensibly a one-man show as Agarwal contended with a revolving cast of batting partners.
Delhi had more about them, with Prithvi Shaw making 39 in a 63-run first-wicket stand alongside Dhawan, before Steve Smith added 25.
Shimron Hetmyer launched Riley Meredith for two consecutive sixes followed by a cover drive for four in the 18th over, leaving Delhi just two short of their victory target.
Neither Hetmyer nor Dhawan had the privilege of finishing the job, however, with a pair of wides from Meredith carrying the Capitals over the line.
Agarwal deserved better
Not only did he take over as captain, Agarwal also led by proud example, just as Rahul as so often done. His innings was the standout performance of this match, but where he rose to the occasion, others in the Kings ranks wilted. Gayle, with 13, was the team's third highest scorer, and it is almost impossible to win matches that way.
Getting all Het up
Hetmyer's late care-free cameo of 16 from four deliveries would likely not have happened without his team-mates laying solid foundations. They did so in the face of largely unthreatening bowling from Punjab, who sit sixth with three wins from eight games, amid doubts over whether their leader will be back in action this season.
The winner of the penultimate match of the regular season at Zayed Cricket Stadium was guaranteed to face Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 on Thursday and it was Delhi who came out on top.
RCB remain in the hunt for the title, though, progressing as their net run-rate is better than fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders finished with.
Sunrisers Hyderabad can seal the final play-off place at the expense of KKR if they beat defending champions Mumbai on Tuesday.
RCB posted 152-7 after being put in, the consistent Devdutt Padikkal making 50 off 41 balls and AB de Villiers 35 from 21 in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
South Africa pacemen Anrich Nortje (3-33) and Kagiso Rabada (2-30) played big hands for the Capitals once again to restrict Virat Kohli's side to a below-par total.
Dhawan (54 off 41) and Rahane (60 from 46) put on 88 for the second wicket to put the Capitals well on their way to victory.
PROLIFIC PADIKKAL, PROTEAS DUO STAR AGAIN
Padikkal has been one of the shining lights for RCB and the 20-year-old moved above his captain Kohli in the list of leading run-scorers in the 2020 tournament.
The opener matched KL Rahul's tally of five half-centuries in this year's competition, hitting five boundaries as he anchored the innings before the excellent Nortje removed his middle stump.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who opened the bowling, had Kohli caught in the deep for 29 off 24 balls and Rahane ran De Villiers out with a great throw in the final over after the wicketkeeper-batsman had cleared the rope twice.
Rabada, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, has two more scalps than Jasprit Bumrah with 25 after dismissing Josh Philippe and Shivam Dube.
DHAWAN AND RAHANE DELIVER
Dhawan has also had an outstanding tournament and only his India team-mate Rahul has scored more runs than him.
The left-hander demonstrated majestic timing and power once again, finding the boundary six times as he and Rahane stepped up when their side needed them.
Rahane's half-century was his first in six knocks, a timely return to form, and he hit one of only two sixes in the run chase under pressure.
Shahbaz Ahmed saw the back of Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer before Rahane fell to Washington Sundar, but Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis finished it off.
Chennai were asked to bat when Rishabh Pant won the toss and recovered well from the early losses of Faf du Plessis for nought and Ruturaj Gaikwad to post 188-7, Suresh Raina top scoring with 54.
But Dhawan (85) and Shaw (72) scythed into what looked like a daunting chase with a stunning stand of 139 for the first wicket and skipper Pant (15 not out) was there to see the Capitals home with eight deliveries to spare.
Chris Woakes (2-18) and Avesh Khan (2-23) set the tone for Delhi as Chennai slumped to 7-2 and the seamers also returned to fine effect – Avesh persuading veteran captain MS Dhoni to drag on for a duck and Woakes bowling fellow England all-rounder Sam Curran with the final ball of the innings.
Curran plundered 34 from 15 deliveries, including two sixes off brother Tom (1-40), in a breezy effort alongside Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out), their 51-run partnership capitalising upon a rebuilding job impressively helmed by Raina.
The India batsman ploughed Marcus Stoinis over for his fourth maximum to reach 50 off 32 balls and he received useful support from Moeen Ali (36) and Ambati Rayudu (23).
A dire mix-up, during which Jadeja collided with Avesh, saw Raina run out amid a slump of three wickets for 14 runs – a blip that proved costly as Dhawan and Shaw took the Super Kings attack apart.
They motored at around 10-an-over for the majority of their partnership. Shaw had faced only 38 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes, by the time he skewed Dwayne Bravo (1-38) to Moeen and there was little remaining doubt about the outcome when Dhawan was trapped lbw by Shardul Thakur (2-53).
Dhawan became the first player in the history of the tournament to register back-to-back tons, carrying his bat for an accomplished 106 not out that accounted for the bulk of 164 for five.
The lack of support for the India opener cost Delhi dear, however, with 14 their next highest individual score, and contributions throughout won the day for the Kings XI.
In at number three after a breezy 15 from captain KL Rahul, Chris Gayle tucked into the beleaguered Tushar Deshpande, hitting three fours and two sixes in a riotous fifth over.
After Gayle was bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin for 29 and Mayank Agarwal was run out in the sixth over, another West Indian in Nicholas Pooran thrillingly picked up the baton.
Pooran compiled a blistering half-century as he added 69 for the fourth wicket alongside Glenn Maxwell. He departed the ball after reaching his milestone, edging the impressive Kagiso Rabada (2-27) behind for a 28-ball 53.
Maxwell departed for 32 when Rishabh Pant pouched a swirling chance off Rabada but Deepak Hooda and Jimmy Neesham - 15 and 10 not out respectively - finished the job authoritatively, the New Zealander planting Daniel Sams over midwicket to finish matters with an over to spare.
Dhawan plays stunning lone hand
Dhawan is in simply irresistible form. His knock on Tuesday made it two centuries and two fifties in his past four innings. During that time he has scored 333 runs and been dismissed only once. However, it would be nice for some of his team-mates to join him. Pant matched skipper Shreyas Iyer's 14 but did so glacially off 20 deliveries.
Deshpande dominated
The right-arm medium pacer found himself in the eye of the storm against Gayle and things got no better when a rampant Pooran tucked into him. A ploy of slow, short deliveries missed the mark horribly and Deshpande's two overs cost 41, featuring five fours and three sixes.
The hosts headed into the contest on the back of coronavirus-interrupted preparations and ructions behind the scenes between players and the national board, but scrapped their way to a competitive 262-9 despite no player passing 50.
Dhawan - captaining a largely second-string India, given Virat Kohli's Test squad have departed for their Test series in England next month - ensured the tourists reached their target with 80 balls to spare, while debutant Ishan Kishan (59) and Prithvi Shaw (43) also impressed - the latter hitting nine of his 24 deliveries to the boundary.
Avishka Fernando and wicketkeeper Minod Bhanuka put on 49 for the opening wicket before Fernando lobbed Yuzvendra Chahal's (2-52) first delivery to Manish Pandey at short cover to depart for 33.
Leg-spinner Chahal excelled in tandem with slow left-armer Kuldeep Yadav (2-48), who accounted for Bhanuka (27) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa – the number three's breezy 24 from 22 deliveries briefly threatening to change the tempo – to leave Sri Lanka 89-3.
From that point it was a repeated story of useful contributions without anything substantial. New captain Dasun Shanaka and Charith Asalanka diligently compiled 39 and 38 respectively before each falling to swing bowler Deepak Chahar (2-37), while Krunal Pandya's miserly left-arm spin (1-26) snared up the middle overs, leaving Chamika Karunaratne's unbeaten 43 off 35 balls as Sri Lanka's highest score.
Shaw made it clear India would not be shackled in similar fashion as he climbed into Sri Lanka from the off.
Isuru Udana's two overs disappeared for 27 – including three successive fours through the covers - and the score was 58 when Fernando caught Shaw at long-on off Dhananjaya de Silva, whose two wickets came at a steep cost of 49 runs in five overs.
Kishan, who enjoyed an unforgettable 23rd birthday, ensured there was little let-up. He danced down the pitch to dispatch Dhananjaya for six first ball, clattering the next for four more through cover point.
The youngster reached a half-century in 33 balls and edged his 42nd behind off Lakshan Sandakan but Dhawan remained as a regal presence, finding further willing allies in Manish Pandey (26) and Suryakumar Yadav (31 not out) to complete a resounding victory.
Shanaka wants more variety from Sri Lanka
The difference between two – in isolation, at least – impressive opening partnerships set the tone for the contest. But the end of the first powerplay, Sri Lanka were 55-1. India were already up to 91-1 after 10 overs. "The Indians batted aggressively," Shanaka said. "We needed to vary the pace as the ball was coming on to the bat nicely. In the next game, we will have to improve on that."
Dhawan laughing as the elder statesman
When you've top-scored as a victorious captain and also surpassed 6,000 career ODI runs, there is perhaps no better time for self-deprecation. Dhawan certainly thought so, claiming he did not have the required shots to reach three figures with an exciting young batting line-up firing all around him.
"I was telling them to take it easy actually," he beamed, before chuckling his way through a post-match presentation where Shaw was named player of the match despite scoring half as many runs as his skipper.
"The way these young boys play in the IPL, they get lots of exposure and they just finished the game in the first 15 overs only. I thought about my hundred but there were not many runs left. When Surya came out to bat, I thought I need to improve my skills."
Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal helped Punjab post 195-4 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after being put into bat by Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant.
However, Delhi – who came into the contest having alternated between defeat and victory across their previous seven IPL games – bounced back from a three-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals last time out in stunning fashion.
Dhawan dominated the Kings attack in a well-paced chase, following up his 85 in his side's opener against Chennai Super Kings with a marvellous knock that included 13 fours and two sixes.
Opening partner Prithvi Shaw contributed 32 at the top of the Capitals' order while Marcus Stoinis finished the job in a hurry, the all-rounder making 27 not out from just 13 balls.
Punjab's total had been built on the solid foundation provided by openers Rahul and Agarwal as they shared a 122-run stand, the latter the more aggressive of the pair as his score of 69 came from 36 deliveries.
West Indian duo Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made just 11 and nine respectively as the innings briefly stuttered, but late cameos from Deepak Hooda – who hit two sixes to make 22 not out from 13 deliveries – and Shahrukh Khan (15 off five balls) lifted the Kings.
Delhi had lost five of the past seven meetings between the franchises but Dhawan made sure they prevailed this time, in the process becoming the competition's leading run-scorer in 2021.
Kings run into a spot of trouble
Rahul hit seven fours and two sixes while at the crease, but his 61 runs came from 51 deliveries at a strike-rate of 119.60.
Punjab Kings would have had designs on making in excess of 200 following the start they were given by their openers, but an inability to get after Ravichandran Ashwin – his four overs of spin went for just 28 runs – saw them come up just short.
Capitals gain from in-form opener
Dhawan received the orange cap after the game as he moved above Glenn Maxwell of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the run-scoring table. The left-hander is scoring at 163.15 runs per 100 deliveries in the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 tournament, despite having only hit four sixes.
Bowled within sight of a century as he attempted to sweep Australian seamer Jhye Richardson, Dhawan then watched on as Stoinis rushed his team home with 10 balls to spare.
Dhawan led India for the recent 3-0 whitewash of West Indies in the 50-over format, as Rohit Sharma was given a break before flying to the Caribbean for the ongoing Twenty20 International series.
Opener Dhawan will be the skipper again for three matches at Harare Sports Club, where Kohli will not get a chance to return to form.
Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are among the other players who will not play in Zimbabwe, but batter Rahul Tripathi is set to make his debut.
Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav got the nod along with the fit-again Deepak Chahar in a 15-man squad for series that starts on August 18.
India squad : Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
Looking to overhaul India's 308-7 at Queen's Park Oval, West Indies were 133-1 at one stage, ideally placed to bounce back from their recent 3-0 drubbing by Bangladesh.
Yet they could not keep up the strong early running, finishing on 305-6 to lose the opener in the three-match series, a seventh consecutive ODI defeat to India at this ground.
Opener Dhawan, captaining India in the absence of the resting Rohit Sharma and a host of senior stars, was named man of the match. He provided the backbone of the tourists' innings but fell frustratingly short of a century when he was caught by Shamarh Brooks for 97 as he looked to cut away Gudakesh Motie to the ropes.
Shubman Gill had made 64 in a first-wicket stand of 119 before he was run out by a direct hit from home captain Nicholas Pooran, and it was Pooran who took a fine catch at cover off Motie's bowling to send Shreyas Iyer (54) on his way.
In the hosts' reply, Brooks made 46 and Kyle Mayers scored a sharp 75 before falling when he reached outside off stump at a wide-ish ball and got a nick through to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
Pooran cracked Prasidh Krishna for two consecutive sixes in the 32nd over to raise a slowing tempo, but he fell for 25 soon after. When Brandon King was caught in the deep for 54 in the 45th over, with 57 still required, that looked to be West Indies' hopes at an end.
There was a flourish though, and they were left needing 15 from the final over, with Akeal Hosein (32 not out) and Romario Shepherd (38no) narrowly failing to delivery the necessary heroics.
IYER LANDMARK
Iyer's 54 took him to 1,001 runs in ODIs, making him the equal-third fastest India batter to reach the 1,000-run milestone, alongside Navjot Singh Sidhu who also got there in 25 innings. Only Virat Kohli and Dhawan (24 innings each) reached four figures in fewer innings.
INDIA EXTEND DOMINANCE
India have now won 11 of their 12 most recent ODIs against West Indies, with the only loss coming in Chennai in December 2019. They have won the last four bilateral ODI series they have contested against West Indies in the Caribbean, and can seal a fifth in a row when game two takes place at the same ground on Sunday.
India collapsed from 134-1 to 255 all out in Mumbai on Tuesday after Shikhar Dhawan (74) and KL Rahul (47) put on 121 for the second wicket.
Mitchell Starc took 3-56, while there were two wickets apiece for Pat Cummins (2-44) and Kane Richardson (2-43) in a superb performance in the field for the tourists.
The magnificent Finch (110 not out from 114 balls) and Warner (128no off 112) reached the victory target with 12.2 overs to spare, staging the highest opening stand in an ODI against India, as Marnus Labuschagne was not required to bat on debut.
Warner become the fourth fastest to 5,000 ODI runs – and the quickest Australian – in the process and has four centuries in his last eight international knocks in the 50-over format.
India, beaten by Australia in a series on home soil last year, also lost Rishabh Pant to concussion when he was struck on the helmet, Rahul taking the gloves in his absence in the first of three ODIs
Dhawan got his timing going after a slow start, reaching his 50 in the 20th over with Rahul in good touch at the other end after Rohit Sharma was removed by Starc.
Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar did a good job of keeping the run-rate down in the middle overs, though, and the left-arm tweaker drew a false shot from Rahul for a much-needed breakthrough.
Cummins came back into the attack to strike a big blow by ending Dhawan's innings in the next over and Virat Kohli (16) was caught and bowled by Zampa immediately after hitting him for six.
Shreyas Iyer also failed to hang around before Ravindra Jadeja (25) was caught behind attempting to cut Richardson, and Pant (28) departed in painful fashion, an attempted pull off Cummins hitting his helmet and resulting in a catch for Ashton Turner.
India added only 42 runs for the last five wickets and play was stopped due to a kite flying into the stadium before Warner and Finch blew Kohli's side away.
Warner successfully reviewed when he was given out caught behind hooking in the sixth over and needed only 40 balls for a half-century, with Finch raising his bat soon after.
Both openers smashed Kuldeep Yadav over the rope and continued to pierce the field with exquisite strokes on both sides of the wicket, Warner also overturning an lbw decision when he was struck on the pad by Jadeja.
Warner leapt in the air with his trademark celebration after majestically cutting Jasprit Bumrah for four off his 88th ball before Finch swept Jadeja to the boundary for a 15th ODI before stunned India were put out of their misery.
Hardik will lead India when they begin their tour of New Zealand with the first of three T20Is in Wellington on November 18 – just five days after the T20 World Cup in Australia ends.
One week later, they begin a three-match one-day series at Eden Park in Auckland, in which Dhawan – who led India on a tour of the West Indies earlier this year – will take the captaincy.
Rohit, Kohli and Rahul will all miss the trip to New Zealand, but as many as eight other players currently in Australia for the World Cup will be in attendance.
Hardik, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh have all been selected for the T20I series, with Pant named vice-captain for the entire tour.
There was no place in either squad for Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja, however, after the duo were forced to miss the World Cup through injury.
It is their first trip ever to an IPL final where they face four-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Hetmyer hit four fours and a six and shared in a 52-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan who top scored for the Capitals with a 50-ball 78.
The half-century stand came up in just 25 balls with Hetmyer scoring 34 of them as the Capitals raced towards their match-winning total of 189 for 3.
Man of the Match Marcus Stoinis opened the batting with Dhawan and scored 38 from 27 balls. He and Dhawan scored 50 runs from just 29 balls and were 65 without loss after six overs. Stoinis was unbeaten on 33 and Dhawan 30.
The pair took the score to 86 when Stoinis was bowled by Rashid Khan in the ninth over.
Shreyas Iyer joined Dhawan and together they took the score to 126 when Jason Holder had Iyer caught at mid-off for 21.
Hetmyer and Dhawan then took the Sunrisers’ bowling to task scoring at just about 12 runs an over. The Guyanese batsman was particularly harsh on the West Indies captain hitting him for four fours in the 18th over that yielded 18 runs.
Dhawan was trapped lbw in the 19th over two balls after he was dropped at deep midwicket by Rashid Khan. The Capitals lost some momentum after that with only seven runs coming off the final over but managed a competitive total of 189 for 3.
Chasing 190, Sunrisers were immediately in trouble when the dangerous David Warner was bowled by Kagiso Rabada for 2 in the second over with the score at 12.
Three overs later, Sunrisers were in deeper trouble when Stoinis dismissed Priyam Garg (17) and Manish Pandey with the fourth and the sixth balls of the fifth over. At the break, Sunrisers were 64 for 3 from nine overs.
Holder stayed with Kane Williamson until the 12th over when he lost his wicket to Axar Patel for 11 and the Sunrisers 90 for 4.
Williamson and Abdul Samad put on a quick-fire 57 to bring Sunrisers back into the hunt. The 50-stand came up in just 27 balls but the chase began to unravel when Sunrisers lost their fifth wicket in the 17th over when Stoinis had Kane caught by Rabada for 67 with the score at 147.
At 167 for 5, Rabada inflicted the death blows when he had the wickets of Samad and Khan in successive deliveries as he finished with 4 for 29.
The double blow took the sting out of the Sunrisers attack and booked the Capitals spot in the finals.
Stoinis completed a good day with figures of 3 for 26.
The tourists had embarrassed India in the first match, cruising to a 10-wicket win with unbeaten centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch.
India posted a more challenging total of 340-6 on Friday, featuring 96 from Shikhar Dhawan, 80 from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli's 78, to give Australia a tricky chase and they fell short on 304 all out to set up a series decider in Bengaluru on Sunday.
At 220-3 with more than 12 overs remaining, Australia were firmly in the hunt, but India's bowlers got on top and the tourists did not recover from losing Steve Smith, whose 98 was the fulcrum of their innings.
Smith played on to give Kuldeep Yadav his second victim in the 38th over after dismissing Alex Carey to bring up 100 ODI career wickets.
Warner had earlier been dismissed for just 15, flicking at a length ball from Mohammed Shami (3-77) outside off stump and caught spectacularly above his head by Manish Pandey at cover.
Finch fell for 33 and Marnus Labuschagne made 46 in his first ODI knock, but Australia's hopes of a late flurry were savaged by Shami yorking Ashton Turner and Pat Cummins with the first two deliveries of the 44th over before Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah mopped up the tail.
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma had earlier put on a run-a-ball 81 for India's first wicket, before the latter fell for 42, pegged lbw by leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
Dhawan and Kohli kept the runs flowing, with their stand of 103 eventually broken when Dhawan, four short of an 18th ODI century and looking to reach three figures with one blow, was caught at fine leg by Mitchell Starc off Kane Richardson.
India had collapsed from 134 for one to 255 all out in Mumbai, but this time it would be a different story.
The classy Kohli scored at just over a run a ball before becoming the second of three victims for Zampa (3-50), before Rahul injected late pace into the scoring by plundering his 80 from 52 balls, clearing the ropes three times before being run out in the final over.
A blow for India on an otherwise positive day came with Dhawan taking a blow to the ribs when batting that prevented him from fielding.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul scored a rapid 80 and had three dismissals behind the stumps as India scored a 36-run victory, defending a total of 340-6 by bowling out Australia for 304.
Rahul moved from number three to five in the batting order, with captain Kohli nudging up to three, as India adjusted their line-up after a 10-wicket thumping in the opening game of the series.
Kohli said: "I think it's very important to figure out what is the best team you can put on the park and when someone's batting as well as KL was batting today, it's very difficult to leave someone like that out.
"Batting at number five and batting like that for the team, this is probably the best he's played at international level according to me. That knock showed maturity and class.
"We know exactly what we're doing in the changing room. On the outside there's a lot of panic that we don't really focus on."
Kohli made 78, sharing a 103-run partnership for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan, whose 96 helped anchor the innings.
"Back to three was good for the team so I'm happy from that point of view that it helped the team," Kohli said.
Paying tribute to Dhawan, Kohli added: "In ODI cricket, he's been one of our most consistent performers. When he plays well it's a good sign for the team. I'm very happy that he scored runs as well. It always augurs well when Rohit [Sharma] and Shikhar both score runs."
Australia's ODI skipper Aaron Finch accepted his side had allowed India to put too many runs on the board.
"Yes, probably, but they played very well," Finch said.
"The whole way through the innings, we were probably one wicket shy of where we really needed to be to contain them at the back end and on an outfield like this with a good wicket and world-class players it can be hard to stop no matter what attack you've got."
Steve Smith's 98 kept Australia in touch, and Marnus Labuschagne made 46 in his first ODI innings, but Australia folded in the closing overs.
Ahead of the series decider in Bengaluru, Finch sent a message to his team, saying: "You just have to make sure that when you get in, you capitalise and you go really big.
"That's probably the area where we were slightly off tonight with the bat, just one wicket too many down as the run rate kept going up."
The tourists twice looked to have taken control of the contest – initially when India squandered the platform laid by Shikhar Dhawan (98) and stumbled to 202-5, before Jonny Bairstow (94) and Jason Roy (46) tore after the eventual target of 317-5 with a 135-run opening stand inside 15 overs.
But Krunal clattered an unbeaten 58 form 31 deliveries, featuring seven fours and two sixes, as he and KL Rahul climbed into some sub-par death bowling from England.
In a curtailed mid-innings interview following his knock, Krunal broke down in tears as he dedicated his format debut to his father, who passed away in January.
Having seen his left-arm spin disappear under Roy and Bairstow's early assault, Krunal returned to claim the important wicket of Sam Curran (12) as England subsided meekly – seamers Prasidh Krishna (4-54), Bhuveneshwar Kumar (2-30) and Shardul Thakur (3-37) doing the bulk of the damage to dismiss Eoin Morgan's side for 251 in 42.1 overs.
India posted 164-5 after they were asked to bat first in Colombo, with skipper Shikhar Dhawan's 46 and a 34-ball 50 from Suryakumar Yadav providing the bulk of the runs.
Dushmantha Chameera (2-24) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-28) did the damage for Sri Lanka, but the majority of the home side's batsmen failed to fire after the interval.
Avishka Fernando (26) and Charith Asalanka (44) briefly gave Sri Lanka some hope, but Kumar (4-22) and Deepak Chahar (2-24) got the job done as the hosts were bowled out for 126 with nine balls to spare.
Sri Lanka were outclassed in their recent T20I series in England, which ended in a 3-0 loss, but even on home soil Mickey Arthur's side lack the batting firepower and they have now won just once in their previous 14 completed fixtures.
The second and third Twenty20 internationals in Colombo, both also at the R. Premadasa Stadium, take place on Tuesday and Thursday as both sides continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup later this year.
Kumar closes in on milestone
India seamer Kumar was cool during the business end of the match as he took three of the final four wickets to fall. He needs just one wicket to reach 50 in T20I action for India and become the fourth player to achieve this feat for the country.
Shanaka must deliver more
Sri Lanka lost their final six wickets for less than 15 runs and needed more from T20 captain Dasun Shanaka, who made a tame 14-ball 16. Shanaka is normally an aggressive middle-order batsman but his modest innings included just one four before he was stumped off the bowling of debutant Varun Chakravarthy.
The first match is slated for Thursday in Lucknow, before the second game in Ranchi on October 9. The teams will then face off a final time in Delhi two days later.
Shikhar Dhawan has been named India's captain, while Shreyas Iyer will be vice-captain for the series.
Dhawan is expected to open the batting with Shubman Gill, though Ruturaj Gaikwad is also reportedly in contention for that role.
Patidar will form part of the pace attack, alongside Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan.
It is a weaker India squad as none of the members of the T20I set-up have been named in the ODI pool, with those players due to travel to Australia on October 6 ahead of the T20 World Cup.
India squad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubhman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
Half-centuries from Mayank Argarwal (52) and Shikhar Dhawan (70) established a commanding lead for the Kings, which Mumbai always looked unlikely to reach once Rohit Sharma went for 28.
Dewald Brevis (49) and Suryakumar Yadav (43) both looked to spearhead an unlikely revival for Mumbai, but fell narrowly short of half-centuries as they suffered a fifth consecutive loss.
Mumbai elected to put the Kings into bat when winning the toss, but Agarwal and Dhawan struck up an excellent partnership as the Mumbai attack struggled to make headway early on.
The Kings reached 97 before Argarwal was caught by Yadav, before Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone were bowled out for 12 and two runs respectively.
Dangerman Dhawan was finally caught by Keiron Pollard after joining Argarwal in hitting a half-century, after which a decent showing from Jitesh Sharma (30) and a mammoth haul of 28 runs in the 17th over carried the Kings to 198.
Mumbai skipper Rohit was tasked with leading the response with the bat, but their hopes of avoiding another defeat looked slim once he fell for 28, particularly once partner Ishan Kishan went for just three runs shortly after.
Brevis and Tilak Varma subsequently sought to lead a stunning response, with the former smashing four consecutive sixes in a spectacular eighth over before falling to Odean Smith when one run short of his own century.
Tilak was run out by Argarwal soon after, before Pollard suffered a calamitous run-out for just 10 at the hands of Smith as Mumbai's hopes faded.
Yadav looked to lead once last attack for the batting side, but fell for 43 in a thrilling 19th over as the Kings held on for a third victory in five IPL outings, Smith posting three wickets in a comfortable final over.
Kings duo star with the bat
Half-centuries from the Kings' top-order batsmen set them on their way to victory, with Argarwal reaching 52 and Dhawan 70 in an outstanding display, setting a target which proved beyond Mumbai after their own top-order fell in quick fashion.
Stunning finish sees Smith rack up the wickets
Smith, meanwhile, finished with a brilliant four wickets from 30 balls for the victors after accounting for the last three dismissals of the match, as Mumbai collapsed after Yadav fell in the 19th.
The Rohit Sharma-led side have been in great form and enter the contest as strong favourites to overcome the Capitals, who are competing in their first final.
But if Mumbai are to become only the second side to win back-to-back crowns, after Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, they will need to end their even-number year jinx.
Their previous triumphs came in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, losing their only odd-number year final to the Super Kings in 2010.
Delhi may lack the pedigree of their opponents but confidence will be high in the camp after overcoming Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs on Sunday.
As the top two sides in the tournament pool stage prepare to go head-to-head at the Dubai International Stadium, we look at where the game could be won and lost.
DHAWAN CHASING DOWN RAHUL
Capitals' Shikhar Dhawan enters the final with 603 runs from 16 matches and needs 68 to overtake Kings XI Punjab's K. L. Rahul at the top of the charts.
Dhawan is averaging 46.38 and has two hundreds to his name in this season's IPL.
Mumbai have a couple of big hitters of their own in the top five, with Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock (both 483) behind only Rahul, Dhawan and David Warner (548).
Four Mumbai batsmen have hit at least 20 sixes in this year's IPL - Kishan (29), Hardik Pandya (25), Kieron Pollard (22) and De Kock (21).
No Capitals player has reached that mark yet - Marcus Stoinis being their most frequent boundary-clearer with 16.
BUMRAH LEADING THE WAY
While Dhawan - who also leads the way in terms of centuries (2) - is in strong contention to win the Orange Cap, Jasprit Bumrah is still eyeing the Purple Cap.
That is currently in Kagiso Rabada's possession, having taken 29 wickets in 16 matches, but Bumrah is just two behind with 27.
The Capitals' biggest wicket-taker, by comparison, is Anrich Nortje, who is down in seventh with 20 from his 15 outings.
In terms of all-rounders, Stoinis has scored 352 runs and taken 12 wickets, making him one of only 12 to have completed the 350-10 double in an IPL season.
MUMBAI'S PROVEN PEDIGREE
Perhaps more than any individual stats, though, is the fact that Mumbai Indians have been there and done it.
They are the most successful IPL franchise ever, reaching five of the 12 finals and winning four of those.
However, the sides' head-to-head record ahead of this season stood at 12 wins apiece, only for Mumbai to win three in a row.
Intriguingly, one finalist has had a 3-0 record against the other in the last three IPL seasons, and it did not stop the Mumbai Indians ending their losing streak against Rising Pune Supergiant on one of those occasions in 2017.
The Kings posted a imposing 187-4 after Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and put them in on Monday.
Ambati Rayudu made a blistering 78 off 39 balls, but was dismissed in the 17th over as the struggling reigning champions were condemned to their sixth defeat in eight matches, leaving their play-off hopes in tatters.
The Kings were unable to get off to a flyer and lost captain Mayank Agarwal for 18, Shivam Dube taking the catch off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana.
Dhawan, however, became the third-highest scorer in the 2022 IPL with a terrific knock, supported in excellent fashion by Bhanuka Rajapaska (42) until he also fell victim to a catch from Dube for Dwayne Bravo.
Liam Livingstone made a rapid 19 from seven balls as Punjab produced a late flurry of runs.
Robin Uthappa (1), Mitchell Santner (9), and Dube (8) fell cheaply to leave CSK in trouble on 40-3 from seven overs, before Rayudu's talismanic efforts threatened to be the catalyst for a stunning win.
Agarwal caught Ruturaj Gaikwad for 30, before Rayudu was cleaned up by the impressive Kagiso Rabada, who claimed excellent figures of 2-23.
Chennai's hopes of chasing down their target looked slim after Rayudu was sent packing, with Jadeja (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (12) unable to get them home.
Dhawan sets the tone
Dhawan's classy knock went a long way to ending the Kings' two-match losing run and Punjab are in sixth spot with four wins and as many defeats.
The India opener struck two sixes and nine fours, shifting through the gears after a watchful start.
Rayudu goes close for out-of-form Super Kings
Chennai's miserable IPL title defence continued after their top order was decimated early on, but Rayudu was unfortunate to taste defeat after single-handedly dragging his side into contention.
The Titans had won five matches in a row – no side has managed a longer run this season – but could only crawl to 143-8 from their 20 overs after electing to bat first.
Rabada returned to his best form as he took the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha (21), Rahul Tewatia (11), Rashid Khan (0) and Lockie Ferguson (5) to finish with figures of 4-33.
Only two Titans players scored more than 11 runs, with Sai Sudharsan at least giving his side hope with an unbeaten 65.
The Kings' reply got off to a shaky start when losing opener Jonny Bairstow (1) early on, but Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa mounted an 87-run stand for the second wicket.
Dhawan powered to a half-century and finished with an unbeaten 62 off 53 balls, which included eight fours, while Rajapaksa went for 40 from the bowling of Ferguson.
It was left to Liam Livingstone to get the Kings over the line and ensure that his side remain in contention for the playoffs with an impressive 30 off just 10 deliveries.
Shikhar shines again
Dhawan has now topped the scorecard 51 times for Punjab, putting him level with Rohit Sharma and behind only David Warner (57) in IPL history.
He now has three half-centuries this season and his 369 runs from 10 innings is the third most of any player, behind only KL Rahul (451) and Jos Buttler (588).
Livingstone lives up to his billing
After Dhawan and Rajapaksa had laid the foundations, big-hitting Livingstone struck three sixes in quick succession to light up DY Patil Stadium.
That included a monstrous 117-metre drive off Mohammed Shami's delivery, making it the biggest six of this season's IPL thus far.
