Coming back to CSK, they were rather listless against the Royals, particularly with the ball. While Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran kept things tight for most part, Lungi Ngidi undid all his hard work with a terrible last over in which he was slammed for 30, including four consecutive sixes by Jofra Archer. The spin duo of Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja will need to raise their game as they were miserable against the Royals, giving Sanju Samson a free hand to go after him.
If you look at their batting, it was rather baffling as there was hardly any intent when needed. Murali Vijay took 21 balls to score as many runs when the need of the hour was boundaries while MS Dhoni’s demotion also raised eyebrows as he came in at number seven. Even then, the former India captain failed to get going, and the three sixes at the end brought little cheer. Faf du Plessis’ counter-attacking 72 from 37 was the sole pièce de résistance of the CSK innings. It will be important for the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad to support him.
The close win against Punjab apart, Delhi would be worried about the fitness of Ravichandran Ashwin, who hurt his shoulder while fielding off his own bowling. Ashwin, who claimed two wickets in the only over he bowled, is said to be doubtful for the CSK encounter. In his absence, another senior spinner Amit Mishra could come in to partner Axar Patel. And, while Kagiso Rabada was excellent again right through the game, the desired support did not come from Mohit Sharma and Anrich Nortje.
In the batting department, it was all about the Marcus Stoinis show. However, it could be viewed as a one-off since Delhi have one of the strongest batting line-ups in the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer. Surely, you can expect some of them to come good against CSK.
Head to Head Record: CSK have a superior record in the clashes having won 15 out of 21 in comparison to Delhi’s six
CSK Probable XI: N Jagadeesan, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Josh Hazlewood
DC Probable XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin/Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Mohit Sharma
Pitch Report
The pitch at Dubai has had something for both batters and bowlers. While runs have been scored at a decent clip, both pacers and spinners have got some purchase.
Weather conditions
It will be a sunny day, with the maximum temperature touching 39, and humidity in the region of 40
--Renin Wilben