Chennai Super Kings were handed a crushing defeat in their last match against Rajasthan Royals, it was their biggest this season in the sense that the opposition chased down 190 with 15 balls remaining. Simmering from that humiliation, they would look to get over that with a win against Delhi Capitals, who are also their competitors in the race for the top of the table finish at the end of the season.
Capitals, on the other hand, are coming on the back of a great victory against their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians and having won the first leg of their clash against CSK, the Rishabh Pant led side would be looking to make it two in two this season.
In the last game, the team rested Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar, their two best bowlers and as a result, got a hammering from Rajasthan openers. Now, with just two games to go before the probable Qualifier, MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming would look to get the settled XI in and try and win the last two games.
Another thing that CSK would be looking to do is try and defend a total because it is not possible to win all tosses and thus defending a total is also a necessity given that in their last five games, they have won three while chasing.
If Chennai are looking to defend a total, then Delhi on the other hand are looking to have a great game with the bat, which has been a rarity for them in the UAE leg of the tournament.
In the four matches that they have played in the UAE leg, the Capitals have crossed the 150 mark just once and that too barely.
Apart from Shreyas Iyer, nobody looks in great touch with the bat as Shikhar Dhawan is slowly fading away and Prithvi Shaw is injured. Pant himself has occupied good enough time in the middle but hasn’t been able to get going.
Having played their last two games in Sharjah, Delhi would be looking to utilise the good batting conditions of UAE to get its players in form.
Match number: 50
Date and Time: October 04, 2021, 07:30 pm IST (10:00 GMT), 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar
The pitches throughout UAE haven’t been supportive of batting, however, Dubai is an anomaly in the sense that it has given some pace and bounce to the wicket and hence run making has been easier as compared to Sharjah and Abiu Dhabi. Thus a better wicket is expected for this game too.
Due to the presence of Cyclone Shaheen in the Gulf of Oman, there are low chances of precipitation in Dubai on Monday, but it wouldn’t be able to affect the game that much. The temperatures would be in the mid-thirties and humidity would keep on increasing as the match progresses.
Chennai would look to bring back Chahar and Bravo for this game while the remaining composition would sustain itself. However, with Raina failing in almost every game, either Narayan Jagadeesan or C Hari Nishanth could be tried, just to make the batting lineup full proof getting into the Knockout stage.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina/ C Hari Nishanth, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
There isn’t much of a change that Capitas could look to apply in their XI, considering that they like to play with their best team all the time. However, with Steve Smith not looking in top form, Sam Billings, who has been sitting in the dugout with the best form, might be tried.
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith/ Sam Billings, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
Wicketkeepers Rishabh Pant
Batters Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu
All-rounders Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo
Bowlers Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje, Shardul Thakur
Vice-Captain Shreyas Iyer
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad