The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the seventh match of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday.
CSK kick-started their IPL 2020 campaign with a win. However, they lost their second game against Rajasthan Royals. Ambati Rayudu, who scored 71 off 48 deliveries in the season opener against Mumbai Indians (MI), was pivotal to CSK winning their first game. However, CSK missed his services in the middle-order in the second game against RR, losing the game by 16 runs. Now, it remains to be seen if he is ready for tonight's game.
The CSK middle order looks a tad weak in the absence of Suresh Raina. Faf du Plessis has been their most sought after batsman and there will be a lot of pressure on him to deliver yet again. Murali Vijay has looked out of sorts in the two outings thus far and not only does he need a significant performance but also a push-on in the powerplay. Captain Dhoni needs to show more initiative and bat at Number 5 or 6.
Lungi Ngidi has been very expensive and could be replaced with the line and length specialist, Josh Hazlewood. Another concern for MSD would be the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja - he has been tonked for above 10 an over in both the matches so far.
DC, on the other hand, snatched a win from the jaws of defeat against Kings XI Punjab in a Super Over-finish. They will hope for a better show from their top 3 - Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Shimron Hetymer - they were all dismissed for single-digits against KXIP. Rishabh Pant will hold the key in the middle order and will remain the difference between a par score of 160 or a winning total of 180-plus should they bat first.
Kagiso Rabada was brilliant against KXIP but DC will hope from a better performance from Mohit Sharma who went for 45 in his 4 overs. Ishant Sharma is still recovering from a back spasm and will most likely again miss out being in the playing XI. DC will be relieved that R Ashwin who suffered a dislocated shoulder in the match against KXIP, is fit to play and along with Axar Patel will form a crucial spin partnership in the middle overs.
The match is expected to go down the wire with CSK having a slight advantage due to the experience in their batting order.
Weather Forecast
The weather in Dubai will be sunny and extremely hot. The maximum temperature will be touching 40 degrees while the minimum will be 28 degrees. Dew will play an important role while there is no chance of rain.
Pitch Report
There have already been a couple of matches played here and those both matches produced middling first innings totals and sporting contests. While the surface tends to get slower towards the end of the match, the presence of dew makes things even between the two sides. As the surface is expected to be a bit on the slower-side once again, spinners are likely to do better than the seamers. Not often do we hear about rains in the desert and it won't be any
different this time as well. It would be a hot evening with no chances of rain and fitness levels will be tested. The team batting first would want to put a total of at least around 170-180 runs on the board.
Toss Prediction
Toss could go either way but the team winning the toss should look to put runs on the board. Teams batting second have found it difficult to chase on this pitch.
Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 20
Chennai Super Kings: 14
Delhi Capitals won: 6
Approaching Milestones:
MS Dhoni needs 3 catches to complete 100 IPL catches as wicketkeeper.
Rishabh Pant needs 6 sixes to complete 100 IPL sixes.
Amit Mishra is 3 wickets away from 100 IPL wickets for the Delhi franchise.
Faf du Plessis needs 17 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs.
Shane Watson needs 10 runs to complete 1000 IPL runs for CSK.
Likely XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Curran, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Deepak Chahar, Shardul
Thakur/Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi/Imran Tahir
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, R Ashwin/Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Norje, Mohit Sharma
Players to Watch Out For:
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Kagiso Rabada
Match Odds:
Chennai Super Kings: 1.80
Delhi Capitals: 2.00
SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Kings XI Punjab
IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 4.5
Chennai Super Kings - 6.5
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 6.5
Delhi Capitals - 6.5
Rajasthan Royals - 8
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 8.5
Kolkata Knight Riders - 9
Kings XI Punjab - 9
Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP
