4 matches left to be played, 3 playoff spots are up for grabs, and 4 teams will vie for those 3 spots, with Rajasthan Royals watching silently at the result of these matches. Cricket fans could not ask for a better finish to the league stage of IPL 2023. The series of ultimate battles starts with the Chennai Super Kings taking on the Delhi Capitals in the capital city of India. The match is not of much significance for the Capitals, but the things are other way around for the Superkings, for whom defeat here will mean all but exit from the tournament. Let’s go into the preview of the all-important clash.
Chennai Super Kings-
Three defeats and one undecided match in the last 6 fixtures has put CSK’s chances in jeopardy. While a defeat against DC will leave CSK looking at other teams’ results for their chances to the next round, a win will not only take them to playoffs, but also seize top two finish, given LSG lose their game against KKR.
Form of Ajinkya Rahane and Ruturaj Gaikwad is a cause of concern for the Superkings. Ajinkya’s sparkling comeback to the IPL was one of the headlines of the first half of the IPL 2023, but in his last 4 outings, Rahane has returned the highest score of just 21. On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad, after a blistering start to the season, has failed to convert good starts into big one time and again. In the last 7 innings when he batted, he has scored at least 30 five times, but didn’t reach fifty even once. CSK will hope that two of their top batsmen return to form in the consequential match.
Shivam Dube, who has made up a lot of plaudits for his task of clobbering spinners in the middle overs, will have a tough task on offer against DC spinners. Capitals’ spin resources- led by Axar Patel & Kuldeep Yadav- has returned the best economy among spinners in this IPL. Axar Patel’s economy rate of 6.95 is the best in the season among bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs.
Despite no star bowler in their ranks, CSK have been good at bowling front. Three of their bowlers- Tushar Deshpande, Ravindra Jadeja & Matheesha Pathirana- feature in the list of top 15 wicket takers this season. When it comes to curb the run rate with spin, Jadeja led spin attack has returned the economy of 7.55, only second to their opponents in this match, Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals-
DC has nothing to lose but a lot of pride to play for. They were struggling badly as they lost 5 matches on the trot, but showed glimpses of a comeback with winning 4 of their next five games. Failure to chase down a par score of 168 in two consecutive matches against CSK & PBKS respectively killed their chances, with avoiding the wooden spoon in the points table is left as the only opportunity for them now.
Batting has been the elemental problem for the capitals. Except for captain David Warner who has scored 430 runs, none of the batsmen have stood up, with Axar Patel (268) sits second in the list of highest run scorers for DC this season.
Though bowlers, especially spinners have bowled economically, they have failed to pick as many wickets as were required to stop the opponents for lesser scores. Mitchell Marsh being the highest wicket taker for DC (12 in 8 Innings) sums the wicket taking ability of DC bowlers this season.
Probable Playing XIs-
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana (Impact subs- Ambati Rayudu, Nishant Siddhu, Akash Singh)
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner (C), Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt (WK), Yash Dhull, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed (Impact subs- Mukesh Kumar, Ripal Patel, Praveen Dubey)
Interesting facts and milestones-
- David Warner (98) has scored the most half centuries in T20 cricket history. Half Century in this match will take him just one short of a century of half-centuries in T20 cricket.
- Rilee Rossouw needs 67 runs to complete 8000 runs in T20 cricket.
- Ravindra Jadeja needs 2 wickets to complete 150 IPL wickets.
Pitch and Weather Report-
A hot afternoon awaits as the temperature will go past 40 degree celsius during the match time. Pitch at Delhi has been equally good for batsmen and bowlers. Out of 6 matches so far, batting second have won 4 times. It will be the first afternoon game on this ground this season. Due to hot weather, pitch can be assistive for spinners in the second innings of the match.
Date and Time- 20th May 2023, 3:30 PM onwards
Venue- Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Live Streaming- Star Sports & Jio Cinema
Dream XI Team-
