Squads –
CSK –
Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(C & WK), Narayan Jagadeesabn, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.Harisankar Reddy, K.Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth, R Sai Kishore, Jason Behrendorff
DC –
Rishabh Pant(C & WK), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Anrich Nortje, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Lukman Hussain Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Pravin Dubey, Vishnu Vinod
Team News –
CSK –
– Chennai Super Kings the giants of IPL led by the Captain himself Mahendra Singh Dhoni will once again get into the season looking for their 4th title after a disappointing season last year.
– CSK have managed to cover se of their weaknesses this year to some extent by bringing in Moeen Ali in that middle order who can also give them 3-4 spin overs.
– Team also got a replacement for Josh Hazelwood in form of Jason Behrendorff but he along with Lungi Ngidi will not be available for the 1st game.
– Expected four foreign players will be Faf Du Plessis, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and DJ Bravo.
– Ruturaj Gaikwad/Robin Uthappa and Faf Du Plessis will open for CSK. Uthappa was traded from Rajasthan Royals and was in brilliant touch in domestic season while Ruturaj who can be preferred over Uthappa due to his brilliant end to the last season. Faf is a sure starter without a doubt.
– Suresh Raina will bat at his trademark no 3 position. He was not a part of the team last year due to some personal issues.
– Ambati Rayudu will bat next at 2 down followed by MS Dhoni. Dhoni is out from International Cricket so will be a bit rusty but was hitting the ball good in the practice games.
– Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali will bat next followed by Sam Curran and DJ Bravo.
– CSK bat’s quite deep even Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar can hit the ball big.
– Jadeja, Moeen Ali will be the spin options with the team.
– Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, DJ Bravo and Sam Curran will be the likely pace attack of CSK
DC –
– The Capitals has an extraordinary season last year under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer last season who has been ruled out of the IPL2021 season due to a surgery. Rishab Pant has been assigned the job of leading the team in his absence.
– Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje the oace spearhead for Delhi last season will not be available for the first game due to quarantine.
– The four probable foreign players will be Steven Smith, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis and any 1 of Chris Woakes/Tom Curran.
– Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan will be opening for Delhi. Shaw after a average season last year showed his talent in the Domestic Season where is averaged staggering 165. Dhawan is in good touch scoring a ton against England recently.
– Steven Smith can bat at 1 down. Smith was a steal buy for Delhi this season. He looked good in some starting games last season but somewhat lost his plot.
– Rishab Pant will bat at 2 down followed by Marcus Stoinis at 5. Pant will look to continue his golden patch and will also keep the Wickets.
– Shimron Hetmyer will be assigned the role of a floater as well as finisher.
– Amit Mishra and Ravi Ashwin will be the spin options for the Capitals.
– Chris Woakes/Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma will lead the pace attack along with Marcus Stoinis.
Probable XI –
CSK –
Robin Uthappa/Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
DC –
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes/Tom Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma
Pitch Report –
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Pitch here generally favours the batsman more as compared to the bowlers. Toss plays a big role here as chasing becomes easier.
H2H Overall : 23
CSK Won : 15
DC Won : 8
Average Score : 170
Team Blueprint –
WK –
Rishabh Pant( 2 down, LHB + wk, red hot form, 222 runs in 6 games against CSK, Must have, can’t miss him)
MS Dhoni( 3/4 down, RHB + wk, no intro needed, one of the best finisher ever, very experienced but poor Average of just 34 against DC)
BAT –
Shikhar Dhawan( Open, LHB, wnd Highest run getter last season with 618 runs, excellent H2H average of 41 with 777 runs against CSK, Must have)
Steve Smith( 1 down, RHB, has a good record against CSK with 317 runs in 35 games, 311 runs last season, experienced, can’t miss)
Suresh Raina( 1 down, LHB, top 3 highest run getter in IPL history, 921 runs at the wankhede in 51 games, Must have)
Faf Du Plessis( Open, RHB, excellent season last year with 449 runs 13 games, very experienced + 190 runs in 4 games against DC, Must have)
Ambati Rayudu( 2 down, RHB, was 2nd highest scorer of team last season with 359 runs, experienced player, Must )
Robin Uthappa( Open, RHB, very experienced, red hot form with 377 runs in Vijay Hazare recently, 90+ runs in practice game, can be a good pick if opens)
Shimron Hetmyer( 3/4 down, can be used as an floater, haven’t played much Cricket recently, SR of 130 in t20s )
Prithvi shaw( Open, RHB, red hot form scoring 827 runs in just 8 Vijay Hazare games, Must have, hit or miss )
Ruturaj Gaikwad( Open, RHB, very talented youngster, 4 games 214 runs last season with 2 50s, can be a good GL pick )
ALL –
Ravi Jadeja( Slow left arm + LHB, playing after a long break, had a decent IPL last year, can’t miss him)
Marcus Stoinis(3 down, Right Arm medium pacer + RHB, dynamic player, will contribute through both bat and bowl, 352 runs + 13 Wickets in last IPL, excellent choice of captain, Must have)
Sam Curran( Left arm medium fast + LHB, can be used as an floater + will bowl in death, 196 runs + 13 Wickets in 13 innings last IPL, must have choice )
Moeen Ali( Off spin + LHB, 4/5 down, can be promoted any day due to hitting abilities, SR of 140 in t20s )
Chris Woakes( Right Arm medium fast, can swing the ball both ways, 113 t20 Wickets but haven’t played any t20 from 3 years )
M Santner( slow left arm, among top 10 t20 bowler’s, less chances of playing)
K Gowtham( Off spin + RHB, good hitter of the ball, SR of 164 in T20s with 568 runs and 41 Wickets, can be crusial pick if plays)
BOWL –
Ishant Sharma( Right Arm medium fast, can be crusial in powerplay with his swing)
Amit Mishra( Leggie, 2nd highest wicket taker in IPL history, has been brilliant against CSK with 9 Wickets in 9 games at an economy just under 7)
DJ Bravo( Right Arm medium, one of the best death bowlers, 14 Wickets in 14 games against DC )
Ravi Ashwin( Off spin, had a pretty good last season with 13 Wickets, was bowling a lot in powerplay)
Umesh Yadav( Right Arm fast, played for RCB past 3 season, experienced with 148 Wickets)
Imran Tahir( Leg spin, veteran very experienced with 384 t20 Wickets, less likely to play)
Deepak Chahar( Right Arm medium fast, known for his swing, has been developing as a good death bowler, 12 Wickets in 14 games last season)
Shardul Thakur( Right Arm medium fast, hit the deck bowler, going through brilliant form, 10 Wickets in 9 games last season, 8 Wickets in recently concluded t20 series against Eng )
Tom Curran( Right Arm medium fast, experienced t20 bowler with 153 Wickets, haven’t been much effective last IPL, economy in the higher rane of 8)
C/VC Options –
CSK –
Faf Du Plessis
Suresh Raina
Sam Curran
Moeen Ali
DC –
Rishab Pant
Shikhar Dhawan
Marcus Stoinis
Steve Smith