We preview the Indian Premier League clash which will see the Chennai Super Kings take on the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday evening.
The Delhi Daredevils have endured yet another underwhelming IPL campaign and look set on finishing bottom of the pile.
Chennai, meanwhile, have qualified comfortably for the play-offs and will want to lay down a marker against this season’s whipping boys as we enter the business end of the campaign.
DD vs CSK | Friday 18 May | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 16:30
To Win Match
Delhi Daredevils 5/4
Tie 35/1
Chennai Super Kings 66/100
Delhi Daredevils
I suppose the one thing that the Delhi Daredevils have going for them is the fact that they’ve enjoyed a five-day break since their last IPL outing against the RCB. That match ended in the Delhi franchise’s ninth defeat in what has been a miserable campaign.
Gautam Gambhir’s return to the franchise from the Kolkata Knight Riders was a resounding failure – he has since lost both the captaincy as well as his place in the side. While experienced heads have failed to deliver, the emergence of Prithvi Shaw and the coming of age of both Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer point toward a bright future.
Those three will be key against a very good Chennai Super Kings outfit. MS Dhoni’s charges have scored runs for fun this season, so it’s safe to assume that they’ll do so once again against a wobbly Daredevils attack. Pant, Shaw and Iyer will each need to contribute with the bat in a big way if the Daredevils are to have any chance here.
I hope we get to see more of Junior Dala, Abhishek Sharma and Nepal international Sandeep Lamichane. The three were given IPL debuts against RCB where Dala struggled against Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers while Sharma and Lamichane both impressed with bat and ball respectively.
Chennai Super Kings
The Super Kings will be supremely confident heading into this tie following their eight-wicket victory over the table-topping Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. They’ve had a bit of time to recharge their batteries since then and head to Delhi feeling refreshed following a run which saw them play twice in two days last week.
They’ve enjoyed a fine season with the bat with Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina all showing just how much experience counts at this level. The four are all well into their thirties and boast a combined age of 135, but have routinely torn opposition bowling attacks to shreds.
Bowling-wise, they’ve shared the responsibilities really well. Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo lead the way in terms of wickets with 11 and nine respectively. Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Watson have all bagged six or more themselves.
The Super Kings boss the head to head results winning four of the last five encounters. Not entirely surprising seeing as these franchises normally operate at opposing ends of the standings. With this in mind, there can surely only be one winner when the sides meet on Friday.
Verdict: Chennai Super Kings 66/100
The Super Kings have endured far worse than an away trip to Delhi over the last few years. Being banned for two years and being forced to move away from Chennai to Pune because of security issues. Back them to overcome a decidedly weak Daredevils side with relative ease.
