Two teams who have made the perfect start to their 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns will meet when Delhi Capitals take on Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Tuesday.
Having come into the 2019 edition under new management as well as a new name, Delhi opened their campaign in style on Sunday with a 37-run win over three-time champions Mumbai Indians.
It was Rishabh Pant who was the chief architect of Delhi’s win with the youngster smashing 78 off just 27 deliveries to help his side post a daunting total of 213-6.
The Capitals had retained their young Indian core from last season which contains the likes of skipper Shreyas Iyer, Pant and Prithvi Shaw. By adding in the experience of Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma to the roster, Delhi seem to have arrived at a winning formula.
Both the India stalwarts played their parts in Delhi’s win over Mumbai with Dhawan chipping in with a 41-run knock at the top while Ishant struck two crucial blows with the new-ball.
Pant was sensational against Mumbai Indians.
Confidence will be running high in the Delhi camp, as their formidable batting unit is being backed by a strong pace attack led by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and New Zealand’s Trent Boult.
What will be interesting to see on Tuesday is whether Ricky Ponting will persist with the same playing XI that beat Mumbai. Explosive Kiwi opener Colin Munro and Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane did not feature in the match, but both the players are proven T20 performers who will be used by Delhi at some point in their campaign.
AGE-OLD WISDOM
While Delhi are riding high on their young core, Chennai Super Kings continue to prove that age is just a number in T20 cricket with the squad laden with veterans still going strong.
The defending champions put Royal Challengers Bangalore to the sword in the IPL 2019 opener at Chennai with veteran spinners Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir starring in the seven-wicket win.
Chennai’s three spinners picked up as many as eight wickets between them as they bowled out Virat Kohli’s RCB for a paltry 70 runs. While he will take a victory in the opening match any given day, skipper MS Dhoni cut a frustrated figure over the state of the Chepauk pitch.
The Chennai track had been a minefield for spinners with the hosts themselves struggling to chase down a target of just 71 runs. The conditions in Delhi will be most certainly different on Tuesday and Dhoni’s men will need to start from scratch again.
Afternoon grind in the Capital! #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/qFPAFhVL5B
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 25, 2019
Interestingly, the Super Kings opted to field only three overseas players in their playing XI against Bangalore despite having Mitchell Santner, David Willey and Sam Billings on the bench. With South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis joining up with the squad after completing his international engagements, it looks unlikely that Dhoni will repeat the same against Delhi.
PACE AGAINST TIME
While they are extremely strong in the spin department, Chennai’s pace battery is wearing thin with South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi ruled out of the IPL with injury. The franchise is yet to name a replacement for Ngidi but are expected to do so in the coming days.
In the batting department, veteran opener Shane Watson will be itching to open his account after being dismissed for a 10-ball duck against Bangalore. The Australian batsman and Ambati Rayudu’s opening partnership will once again be key for the three-time champions who contain a strong Indian middle-order of Suresh Raina, Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.
Chennai have won four out of the six previous matches they have played against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Can the young Delhi Capitals carry the momentum from their Mumbai win and make a another giant-killing?
LIKELY XIs
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Colin Ingram, Rishabh Pant (wk), Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma.
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir.
