The Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals got off to a fantastic start in IPL 2019 with victories over the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians respectively. CSK won by seven wickets at their home ground, while DC took down Mumbai by 37 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.

The team in yellow made use of a sluggish pitch in Chennai to defeat Bangalore and therefore they would like to prove that they can win in unfavourable conditions as well. Chennai take on Delhi in Delhi on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the top five player battles to watch out for in this clash.

MS Dhoni vs Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra didn’t play in the encounter against Mumbai, but he may be included in the eleven for the game against Chennai to counter Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman hasn’t been able to score at a quick rate against the leg-spinner in the IPL. Dhoni has scored 38 runs from 35 balls against Mishra and has been dismissed once. Dhoni has batted at a strike-rate of 108.57 against Mishra.

Suresh Raina vs Ishant Sharma

Suresh Raina has had a cracker of a time against Ishant Sharma in the IPL. The number three batsman has scored 63 runs off 34 balls against the pacer and has been dismissed once. Raina has batted at a strike-rate of 185.29 against Ishant. However, the fast bowler has reinvented himself in the last one year and he will be raring to improve his record against Raina.

Shane Watson vs Axar Patel

Shane Watson didn’t have the best of starts in IPL 2019 and things can be worse for him when he bats against his nemesis Axar Patel in his next match. The spinner has dismissed Watson five times in the IPL and the Australian has managed just 25 runs off 28 balls against Patel. Watson has batted at a strike-rate of 89.29 against the off-spinner.

Shikhar Dhawan vs Deepak Chahar

Shikhar Dhawan looked in good touch in the match against Mumbai Indians, but he will have to be weary of Deepak Chahar in the match against Chennai Super Kings. Chahar, who has a knack of picking up early wickets, has conceded 13 runs off 18 balls against Dhawan. The opening batsman, who has been dismissed once by the bowler, has batted at a strike-rate of 72.22.

Rishabh Pant vs Harbhajan Singh

Rishabh Pant got off to a fantastic start in IPL 2019 with an unbeaten innings of 78 runs from 27 balls and he will be certainly looking to continue his good form in the rest of the tournament. He will fancy batting against Harbhajan Singh, since he has a brilliant record against him. Pant has scored 46 runs off 27 balls at a strike-rate of 170.37 in the IPL against Harbhajan.

First Published: Mar 25, 2019 22:37 IST