In the 52nd match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Delhi Daredevils led by Shreyas Iyer at Ferozshah Kotla ground in New Delhi. A formidable Chennai Super Kings will be aiming to tie up loose ends ahead of the playoffs when they take on a listless Delhi Daredevils in a rare dead rubber of IPL 2018. With CSK comfortably qualifying for the playoffs, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led squad is eyeing the top spot on the Vivo IPL points table alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad, whom they defeated comprehensively in their previous game.
The last two games at Ferozshah Kotla was high scoring and the target in excess of 170 was chased easily. In today’s IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils (CSK vs DD) Kolta’s pitch will be run feast and the team batting second has a clear advantage. The weather in New Delhi has been changing is past few weeks and today’s IPL match will be affected by rain.
The consistency CSK have shown in IPL 2018 after missing out in the previous two seasons is commendable and it seems they were never out of action. They have been solid even against the mighty Sunrisers Hyderabad, who arguably have the best bowling attack in IPL 2018. Also, CSK adjusted well in Pune, their forced home ground after games were moved out of Chennai due to the Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Their opening combination of Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson has worked brilliantly while chasing big totals as well as setting them. Rayudu, with 535 runs at 48.63 average, has been their standout player which was acknowledged by Dhoni after the opener smashed an unbeaten 100 against SRH. Be it opening the batting or in the middle order, Rayudu has delivered for the team and expected to continue his form in today’s IPL match.
"Even before IPL started I had to make space for Rayudu because he is somebody I rate very highly. He can play both the fast bowlers and spinners very well. Most teams look to exploit the opener with spin bowling. He is someone who does not look like a big hitter but almost clears the field every time he plays the big shot," said Dhoni after the game against Sunrisers.
Dhoni himself has turned back the clock with his clean hitting, helping him amass 413 runs at 103.25. Watson too has been exceptional with 424 runs at 35.33. The bowling has not stood out individually but has done the job as a unit. Shardul Thakur has been their leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps, followed by Dwayne Bravo, who has picked up nine. The experienced spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja have been effective at keeping things tight.
CSK will get to fine-tune their game against Delhi Daredevils, a team which has been below par yet again. Getting the legendary Ricky Ponting on board as coach and a change in captaincy in the middle of IPL 2018 too has not helped the struggling side. They have had the much-needed break of five days and will be fresh going into today’s IPL match. They are playing for pride and would like to be on the winning side in their remaining two games. The management handed out IPL debuts to Sandeep Lamichhane, Abhishek Sharma and Junior Dala in the previous game against RCB. Nepal spinner Lamichhane impressed and even opened the bowling. India U-19 star Abhishek Sharma too took most by surprise with his big hitting, hammering an unbeaten 46 off 19 balls. South African pacer Dala though disappointed as he went wicketless in three overs conceding 34 runs. The trio is expected to get another opportunity to prove their worth and it will not be surprising if a couple of other players on the sidelines get a look in.
CSK playing 11 probables in today’s IPL match: MS Dhoni, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Nigidi or David Wiley, Sam Billings, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur
Delhi Daredevils (DD) playing 11 probables in today’s IPL match: Prithvi Shaw, Glenn Maxwell, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Amit Mishra, Liam Plunkett, Gurkeerat Singh Mann
Here are a few things to know before the Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils (CSK vs DD) match to be played at Ferozshah Kotla ground in New Delhi, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
Delhi Daredevils players who might have an impact in today’s IPL match (CSK vs DD): Delhi Daredevils are packed with talented Indian batsmen. Rishabh Pant has flirted with the Orange Cap; the left-hander has made runs almost on every visit to the crease. Pant has been DD's top-scorer in four of their last five matches; he has made scores of 79, 69, 18, 128* and 61, and is in a rich vein of form. Among the others, Prithvi Shaw and captain Shreyas Iyer have looked good too – though they have not made an impactful contribution in the last couple of matches. The teenager Abhishek Sharma, who made his debut in the previous match, made an instant impression with his body language, the strokes he played and the confidence he exuded while at the crease. Trent Boult is Delhi Daredevils’ top wicket-taker and has taken wickets in 9 of the 12 matches he has played. Amit Mishra was overlooked in the early days of IPL 2018, but since his return to the team, the 35-year old has illustrated that skill and experience make for a deadly combination. After returning figures of 0-76 in his first two matches, Mishra has since picked up 7 wickets in 6 matches, and has an economy rate of 6.95 and expected to trap CSK batsmen in today’s IPL match.
Chennai Super Kings players who might have an impact in today’s IPL match (CSK vs DD): Chennai Super Kings have an in-form batting line-up. There are only ten batsmen with an aggregate of 400 runs or more in IPL 2018 and three of those batsmen are from Chennai Super Kings. Suresh Raina has hit form recently (315 runs). MS Dhoni has been sensational in his role as finisher and the CSK skipper, who has predominantly batted at 4 or 5, has now been not out in the last five innings. Deepak Chahar has become an invaluable asset for CSK and the 25-year old has been sensational, particularly with the new ball. In three of the 8 matches he has played in, the pacer from Agra has finished with an economy rate under five. Dwayne Bravo’s expertise in the death overs is a huge asset for CSK.
Delhi Daredevils CEO disappointed with show: After Delhi Daredevils once again failed to reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs, the capital franchise's CEO Hemant Dua on Sunday expressed disappointment and blamed injuries to key players for the team's poor show. The Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered their ninth loss in 12 games on Saturday, which also shattered their hopes of advancing to the next stage of the cash-rich Twenty20 cricket league. The last time Delhi managed to reach the play-offs was in 2012. Delhi have never won the IPL title, having reached the semi-finals in 2008 and 2009. Dua, disappointed with the team's performance this season, however, said that the squad comprises of youngsters, on whom the success of the team depends. In a series of tweets, the CEO said: "It's been another tough year and yes we have failed again in front of you #DD fans! I have read all your tweets and we are as disappointed as you all are! I know you might not believe but that's the truth." "We all want to win and no one wants it more desperately than all of us here at @DelhiDaredevils ... we have hired the best coaches and bought players which are the best and most of you agreed post auction," he added. Dua further said the injuries to pacers Chris Morris and Kasigo Rabada hurt his side while a few other players took time to get in touch. "Injuries took away @Tipo_Morris and @KagisoRabada25 and few of our senior players were not in form or took while to click," he said.
What Suresh Raina said about aged team tag given to Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Suresh Raina has quashed talks about Chennai Super Kings (CSK) being an 'aged team' in Indian Premier League, as he on Thursday said experience is also an equally important characteristic and cited team's performance in the league, wherein they qualified for playoffs for the record ninth time on Tuesday. "People have been saying that our team is quite aged, but you need experience. All credit goes to Dhoni as you can see he is playing freely. In the IPL, he has shown that he can still play very well despite being 35-36," Raina told ANI. Currently, CSK has players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh, who all are over 34 years old. In fact, Tahir is touching 40. In regard to the tournament, wherein the CSK has qualified for the playoffs, Raina said the job is still half done as their main aim is to clinch the IPL trophy again. "Nobody remembers the runner-up. Everybody looks up to the winner. If we win this time, then the harsh memories of the finals that we lost in previous editions of IPL will go away," said Raina, who was here to launch a store of a sports shoe company. Out of the eight IPL editions, they have played, the yellow brigade has reached finals six times, but only twice they have managed to win the coveted trophy.
Ambati Rayudu can play both pacers and spinners equally well, says Dhoni: Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today heaped praise on Ambati Rayudu for helping his side beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match with an unbeaten century, saying he's someone who can score runs equally well against both pacers and spinners. Opener Rayudu smashed his maiden IPL century, a 100 not out which he made from 62 balls with the help of seven fours and seven sixes as CSK chased down the target of 180 with one over to spare. "Even before IPL started I had to make space for Rayudu because he is somebody I rate him very highly. He can play both the fast bowlers and spinners very well. Most teams look to exploit the opener with spin bowling. He is someone who doesn't look like a big hitter but almost clears the field every time he plays the big shot," Dhoni said after his side beat the Sunrisers by eight wickets. Dhoni was, however, surprised that ball did not swing much when his side batted. "I thought the ball will swing more in the second half than what it did for us. The swing was not there, that was a surprise. We got off to a good start. Watson and Rayudu hit boundaries whenever there was an opportunity. Otherwise, 180 against SRH would have been a tough chase," Dhoni said.
Delhi Daredevils participate in DD-The Crest-Celebrity Golf Tournament: In a great showcase of skills transcending boundaries, The Crest, DLF5 hosted a one of its kind golf extravaganza 'DD - The Crest - Celebrity Golf Tournament' at DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurugram. The golf tournament was played between the Delhi DareDevils team and the residents of DLF5. The entire team of Delhi DareDevils including their coach Ricky Ponting, captain Shreyas Iyer, Gautam Gambhir, Glen Maxwell, Rishabh Pant and other players took to golf at the unique nine-hole tournament organised by The Crest, DLF5 and Delhi DareDevils. Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting was all praises for the world-class amenities of the course. Emerging player Rishabh Pant mesmerized the crowd by taking the first shot with a bat instead of a golf club.
The team head to head ahead of today’s IPL match between Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils (CSK vs DD):
Overall:
Matches – 17, Delhi Daredevils won – 5, Chennai Super Kings won – 12
At the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground:
Matches – 5, Delhi Daredevils won – 1, Chennai Super Kings won – 4