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IPL 2021 | CSK vs DC Match Preview: Fight of supremacy between the master and his disciple

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Needless to say, a few people were shocked when Rishabh Pant was announced as captain of the Delhi Capitals, a young, brash talent who made his name at the franchise due to some scintillating power hitting abilities. Having said that, there were a bunch of people who always wanted a wicket-keeper batsman to lead the team, with a calm head on his shoulders and Dhoni like swagger behind the stumps. 

With IPL fixtures already out, that optimistic bunch would just love to see Pant begin his new innings in Delhi colours against the man sitting on the top of the Everest that Pant has to climb, or the one he wishes to ascent. Even the Uttarakhand born himself admitted that it was a great opportunity for him to begin his captaincy stint against the man from whom he has learnt so much. 

So it is going to be a battle between a disciple and his pedagogue, between a student and his favourite master and also between a team which enjoyed its best in the last season against the one which had its worst season in the history of the tournament. It is Delhi vs Chennai after all. 

Delhi to miss its elite South African pace battery

The best part of Delhi’s last year’s campaign was its bowling. The two South African pacers in Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who took 52 wickets between them, will be out of the first game due to quarantine protocols. They weren’t just quick, but accurate as well, ranging between the economy rate of 8-8.5 in dead UAE pitches. But with them not being able to play (still in their seven-day quarantine), the Delhi team would have to rely upon backup pacers such as Tom Curran and Chris Woakes or at least one of them. 

With the inclusion of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma getting back his full fitness, the worry somewhat seems to be deflected, but it still isn’t the same team without the two big, scary quicks. 

The all-round way to Chennai victory

For Chennai Super Kings to make headway into this game and also into the tournament, their all-rounders need to fire. With Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, the Yellow Army possibly have the best armoury of the people who can do the damage with both bat and ball, and this is without counting a certain Krishnappa Gowtham. 

Picking the eleven is not going to be an easy task for MS Dhoni, the skipper, but that is a headache that he would like to carry throughout the tournament, instead of being forced to make do with a sub-par squad last season. 

All the all-rounders are also great finishers giving the top order batsmen like Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suresh Raina. It was in the batting that CSK lost most of its matches last season and they would surely like to improve, from the very first game this season. 

Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals: Match Details

Match Number-02

Date and Time: April 10, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 PM GMT

Venue: Wankhede Stadium

Broadcast and Live Stream; Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

With all the attention grabbed by rising cases of Covid-19 in Mumbai, the pitch has been a less talked feature in the tie-up. Historically a batting wicket, Wankhede has been a good sporting pitch, especially with the bounce on offer. If the bowlers are able to generate it and get just a hint of early swing, they can benefit from the wicket as well. 

Although the average first innings score at the beach facing stadium has been around 174, the teams batting first have won only 47 per cent of the games, suggesting that chasing has been the favourite flavour for the ground.

Weather and Toss

The weather is supposed to be clear in the evening with temperatures ranging below 30 degrees, giving an ideal condition for playing the game of bat and ball. Also, the fact that not much dew is expected, losing the toss might not be a bad option. 

However, the team winning the toss would surely bowl first.  

Team News

Delhi Capitals

The Capitals would most likely go with a safety-first approach and hence only one among Curran and Woakes would be making the XI. Axar Patel would miss the game giving Amit Mishra an opportunity to get a go-ahead. In all probability, Steve Smith, Sam Billings and Marcus Stoinis will complete the foreigners’ quartet. 

Prithvi Shaw is coming off a good domestic season thus him getting a game is also a certainty. 

Strongest XI

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Sam Billings, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma

Chennai Super Kings

Head to head Chennai have a 15-8 advantage over Delhi and in the very first game of this season, they would like to test the last season runner-ups. With Lungi Ngidi unavailable, the chances of Dwayne bravo getting game time are more. Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and  Faf du Plessis are most likely to fill in the remaining three foreigners’ quota. 

A surprise pick in the playing eleven could be KM Asif, the body-builder turned all-rounder from Kerala, who bowled a heavy ball and troubled the batsmen in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year. But him playing ahead of Gowtham could be a difficult prospect. 

Strongest XI

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Krishnappa Gowtham/Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar 

Dream XI/ Fantasy XI

Sam Billings, Rishabh Pant (VC), Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ravindra Jadeja, Marcus Stoinis(c), Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur

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