The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the 34th match of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 when Delhi Capitals (DC) take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.

Having won six games out of eight, DC currently occupy the second spot in the points table while CSK, with three wins from eight matches, are sixth.

Both the teams are coming into this game having won their previous games. While DC beat Rajasthan Royals, CSK came out on top against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

In their last encounter, DC had beaten CSK by 44 runs and will want to make it 2-0 in the head-to-head battles.

DC is paying very close attention to strategy and individual performances. Shikhar Dhawan seemed to have been given specific instructions to play freely and to not slow down after getting a start. That was something he was guilty of doing in the past.

The addition of Tushar Deshpande was a bit out of the blue but he delivered in the death, just like the bowling coach had said he would.

There are a few problems, though. Rishabh Pant could miss this next game against CSK once more, although, he is close to a return. If he does miss then Ajinkya Rahane and Alex Carey are going to get another chance to make an impression.

The loss of Pant and Hetmyer in the middle is a big one considering how fluently both of them were batting. Their absence also increases the pressure on Marcus Stoinis.

DC still has a very strong batting lineup, though, and we think they match up well against the CSK bowlers. The real strength of DC has been its bowling attack. Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been brilliant for them in every single match that they have played.

With those two, you already have eight overs in the powerplay and the death that are going to be very difficult to score off. Axar Patel has given away just two sixes in the entire tournament so far and we know that Ashwin is world-class as well.

CSK has a tough task on its hands but we expect it to give a much tougher fight to DC than it did in the previous match.

The CSK batsmen seem to have made a deliberate effort to try and bat more aggressively from the start. Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, and perhaps Sam Curran at the top of the order could give CSK some decent starts.

MS Dhoni has also been trying to play more freely without worrying about getting out.

He is, however, not at his best, and to expect too much from him is dangerous. Ravindra Jadeja has been batting pretty well and is it is good to see him bat at 6 where he can make regular contributions.

CSK's batting is not naturally suited to Sharjah, a high-scoring venue and we cannot help but think one out of Watson or de Plessis has to make a massive score to be able to challenge DC.

It will be interesting to see if CSK makes a change to its bowling attack for this match. Playing both Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma, as they did in the previous one, could be a bit of a gamble. Maybe the fact that the Sharjah pitch has spun significantly in the second inning of the two previous matches could help CSK to keep the same combination.

The lack of a genuine fast bowler or top-quality wrist spinners makes CSK vulnerable against the strong DC side.

Weather Forecast
The average temperature should be around 33 degrees celsius. No rain is expected during the match. The low humidity means that the dew won't play much of a role in the match.

Pitch Report
The wicket at Sharjah has slowed down a lot. As seen in the KXIP-RCB game, it has become hard for the batsmen to hit big shots without getting their eye in.

Toss Prediction
The toss is going to be very important in this match and we believe that the team that wins the toss is going to want to bat first. Teams are now batting first because the pitch slows down while chasing. The team batting first should be seen as having a big advantage.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 21
Chennai Super Kings: 14
Delhi Capitals won: 7

Approaching Milestones:
Kagiso Rabada needs 1 wicket to complete 50 IPL wickets.
Shreyas Iyer requires 21 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs.
MS Dhoni needs 1 dismissal to complete 150 IPL dismissals.
Ambati Rayudu needs 8 runs to complete 3500 IPL runs.

Likely XIs:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tushar Deshpande, Anrich Nortje

Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma

Players to Watch Out For:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso, Anrich Nortje
Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar

Match Odds:
Delhi Capitals: 1.80
Chennai Super Kings: 2.00

SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Chennai Super Kings

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 2.75
Delhi Capitals - 3.75
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 4.333
Chennai Super Kings - 8
Kolkata Knight Riders - 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 19
Rajasthan Royals - 29
Kings XI Punjab - 46

Match Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP