DC vs CSK – Match 7

Both teams have a win each to their name before the battle tonight.
The Super Kings play their third game tonight, whereas the Capitals are going to play their second.

Two quality and match winning all rounders in both sides with Sam Curran on one side and Marcus Stoinis on the other!

A constantly changing batting order for CSK is definitely something which is getting unpredictable. Rayudu’s injury in the previous game surely was a cause of concern for the Super Kings. Faf on the other hand is the current leading run scorer with two consecutive fifties to his name and looks in great touch. Sam Curran with his quick cameos also helping out in getting the required run rate down to an extent. Dwayne Bravo’s injury has lead to reliability on Lungi Ngidi in death overs, who proved to be expensive in the previous encounter, would also be something which has to be rectified.

The only team with a complete Indian top order with Shaw, Shikhar, Iyer and Pant, would look to have a better start in the powerplay overs than that in the previous game. Stoinis’ flourish at the end overs would be a sigh of relief for Pant and Hettie in terms of letting them play their natural game without pressure. Ravi Ashwin would most likely be missing the battle against his former team. Anrich Nortje proved to be expensive last time round and DC, last year, was known to make changes in every single game. So, we could again expect a couple of changes here on.

Head to head –

They’ve played each other a total of 18 times out of which CSK has won 12, and DC with 6.

Probable XIs and why –

CSK – Murali Vijay/Ruturaj Gaikwad/Ambati Rayudu (Any 2), Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Sam Curran, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(C)(Wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Piyush Chawla

If Ambati Rayudu is fit for the game, then it would be a tossup between the three for the two spots, with Rayudu a certainty. MSD, as said earlier, likes to back their players and one-off poor performances don’t concern him. Hence, the rest of the side should stay the same.

DC – Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(Wk), Shreyas Iyer(C), Shimron Hetmeyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Daniel Sams/Anrich Nortje, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Mohit Sharma

A forced change in Ravi Ashwin who shouldn’t be risked in the initial stage of the tournament itself, which would mean that the experienced leggie Amit Mishra could come into the side. The other change for me would be Daniel Sams in place of Anrich Nortje. A left arm seam option along with a lower order finishing option should be preferred.

Pitch Report –

DC has played on this wicket and CSK would be playing on this wicket for the first time this tournament. The same wicket that was used in yesterday’s battle between KXIP and RCB. A good pitch for batsmen to do well. A par score of 165+ could be expected on the board.

Safe C/VC choices –

Iyer, Pant, Faf, Curran, Rayudu(if plays)