IPL 2020 | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals - Statistical Preview

09/24/2020

After a week’s action, we finally have a fair idea on what to expect, runs and plenty of wickets and this clash is going to be no different, with plenty of batsmen who can clear the boundary. Both of these teams would be coming into the contest in contrasting form, DC with a win and CSK with a loss.

Form Guide

Delhi Capitals - W L W W L

Three wins out of the last five, definitely not bad and especially given that the team in the past has had a horrible track record in the IPL. However, the entire landscape has changed and been redefined in the last two years, with Shreyas Iyer at the helm. Delhi are beginning to transform themselves from just another franchise to consistently threatening the top teams of a place in the playoff stage. Last year, it was the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab, who they beat to finish just behind the consistent horses, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the top of the table. They will come into this contest on the back of a high, with a win over KXIP in the most dramatic of fashion. Can they do it two-in-a-row?

Chennai Super Kings - L W L W L

Oh, ah, CSK, their bowling attack desperately needed a rest from the last game, as their fans were constantly yelling at their bowlers for doing a bad job. But it's a new day and with IPL games coming in thick and fast, the sides will have no time to dwell over their sorry past. CSK desperately have to turn things around, starting with the contest against Delhi, after their loss against Rajasthan Royals in the earlier match-day. With Ambati Rayudu still recovering from a hamstring injury, it might very well expose the CSK top order, who have shown petty form in the first two games.

Key Batsmen

Delhi Capitals - Shreyas Iyer

Marcus Stoinis might have scored the 52 runs that took Delhi home but it was on the back of a match-saving partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. In the past against CSK, Pant has had a terrible urge and a temptation to take the leg-spinners to the party but instead has only holed it out to the deep fielder. Given that Pant hasn’t changed a bit, the batting onus would be on their skipper Iyer, who has transformed their batting in the past. He scored 463 runs in the last season, at an average of 30.86 but more importantly has set up the standards for batting, which would make him a top batsman against CSK.

Chennai Super Kings - MS Dhoni

Faf du Plessis has ensured that CSK have an impressive win and a narrow loss in their first two games. But the man in the question would be MS Dhoni, whose decision to keep himself fresh at No.7 took Twitter by storm. In the absence of Suresh Raina, some argued that the right-hander should take the opportunity and more importantly, responsibility to bat higher up the order for the three-time IPL winning franchise. That game was done and dusted before Dhoni walked in, this one clearly is not! Against DC, traditionally, Dhoni has had a good rate of success, with 529 runs against the opponents since the start of the IPL. Given that there was immense criticism from the last game, expect to see the right-hander walking higher up the order and thwarting a few to the boundary.

Key Bowlers

Delhi Capitals - Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has returned back to form in sublime fashion and he just took one game to get into the groove after being without cricket for nearly a year now! That is Rabada in short, a threatening bowler who can blow away the opposition batting-order even before they can blink their eyes. While traditionally he has not upset the CSK batsmen up front, it has lied down to the fact that in the past, the duo of Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu have played him well. However, this time with an opening pair of Watson and Murali Vijay, expect Rabada to breathe fire early on in the innings.

Chennai Super Kings - Piyush Chawla

Let’s make it clear, he is MS Dhoni’s go-to-man after the power play phase of the innings. If there is one man that Dhoni seems to often go to when searching for wickets, it is the willy spinner, Piyush Chawla. In Imran Tahir’s absence, CSK would be aiming to neutralize DC’s powerful middle-order batting with the leg-spinner, who can clearly deceive the batsmen with his change-ups. His last performance might make him a bad option but that was a terrible night for all the bowlers and this would be different. Clearly, he has the capability of striking with the ball and they would need him to fire all guns against Delhi on Friday.

Probable XI

CSK: Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar

DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rishabh Pant(wk), Marcus Stoinis, Anrich Nortje, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Axar Patel

Venue: Dubai International Stadium

When to Watch: Sep 25, 7.30 PM IST

Where to Watch: Star Sports Network and Hotstar (in India)