IPL Qualifier 2 Preview, CSK vs DC: MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant in battle of finishers

VISAKHAPATNAM: There has been a remarkable transformation in the side that finished last in IPL 2018. Delhi Capitals had logged five wins and nine losses to be at the bottom of the league table last year, but they bounced back to reverse the win-loss ratio this year and finished third in the standings. Now, they’re one step away from earning the right to play Mumbai Indians in the final.

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The Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad was a potential banana skin Delhi Capitals deftly avoided with a scrappy two-wicket win on Wednesday, but three-time champions Chennai Super Kings will be a different kettle of fish.

Seasoned as they are in the art of seizing crucial moments in a match, biffing the opposition into submission and keeping their nerve, Chennai Super Kings will take to the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Friday for Qualifier 2 on the back of two successive defeats, which saw them cede the top slot to Mumbai Indians.



Kings XI Punjab had nothing to lose in their last league fixture but for altering Super Kings’ position in the standings, which they did, and Mumbai Indians made short work of the hosts in Qualifier 1.

The six-wicket defeat in Chennai entailed a second chance for MS Dhoni and company here and Delhi will be wary of the backlash from a team that relentlessly pursues top honours.




With a top order packed with heavy artillery all the way down to in-form Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo, and a bowling attack that has the uncanny knack of turning situations to their advantage through Imran Tahir — the second highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets — and Harbhajan Singh, it wouldn’t have escaped Chennai’s attention the way Delhi struggled to cross the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Prithvi Shaw controlled the innings beautifully at the top and got back among runs, while Rishabh Pant wrested the initiative with a knock that was in keeping with his excellent run in this tournament, as Delhi ensured the good work of their bowlers didn’t go waste.

Ishant Sharma (12 wickets), Axar Patel (9), Amit Mishra (10), Keemo Paul (9) and Trent Boult (4) have given very little away and will look to test the CSK batting just the way they’ve tormented lineups right through the tournament to account for 44 wickets together.



The Delhi batsmen were smart enough to know which bowler to pick on – like they saw off Rashid Khan’s four overs and took on Basil Thampi in the Eliminator – but will have to learn their lessons fast if they are to put it across a team that’s already got the better of them twice in this tournament.

For a city lucky to get these two matches -- Eliminator and Qualifier 2 – it’s as big as it gets and all eyes will be on Dhoni and Pant. With both in form and guiding their team’s fortunes, the bowlers have a task on hand. The latter was cross with himself for not finishing the game against SRH, but trust the two finishers to leave nothing to chance on the morrow.