Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals Preview: Master versus Protege in titan clash

After contrasting IPL 2020 campaigns, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals start their Indian Premier League 2021 tournament facing each other. This match #2 of the IPL 2021 campaign will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Chennai struggled last season with their slow scoring rate and had the worst run rate of all teams in the first six overs. The addition of Moeen Ali and Robin Uthappa gives them experience at both ends of the batting innings.

MS Dhoni will have the luxury of the returning Suresh Raina who missed last campaign due to personal reasons. Ruturaj Gaikwad is another exciting name, while Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur come into the side after impressive performances in the India vs England series.

Lungi Ngidi could be unavailable because of quarantine, while the other squad members are available for selection.

The Capitals finished second in the group stages last season with eight wins and six losses. Two of those wins have come against CSK and the Capitals went on to reach the finals, but eventually lost to the Mumbai Indians.

Delhi Capitals will miss regular captain Shreyas Iyer who is out of the season due to a shoulder surgery. Rishabh Pant will make his captaincy debut who will look to start with a win.

South Africans Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are likely to miss the match because of quarantine, while Axar Patel is recovering from COVID-19 and is definite to miss the game.

Chennai Super Kings have a 15-8 win-loss record over Delhi Capitals including winning 11 of the last 15 matches. However, Delhi have won both the matches last year.

The first match in IPL 2020 saw the Capitals win by 44 runs with Prithvi Shaw scoring 64 and Kagiso Rabada picking up a three-for. In the return match, Shikhar Dhawan’s 101* gave the Capitals a five-wicket win after the Super Kings posted a challenging 179.

Chennai have struggled last season with their big hitting and that could once again be the case here. Delhi will feel the absence of the South Africa pace duo, but how much that impacts their game is to be seen. This match may well turn out to be a contest between the two batting units.

Chennai have traditionally started their season well and even in the otherwise disastrous 2020 campaign, they won their season opener. Delhi, on the other hand, have lost seven of their last ten IPL season openers. Traditionally, the Super Kings have had a strong vice-like grip on this fixture and have won 11 of their last 15 matches against the Capitals. However, Delhi are in a better frame of mind and will look to capitalise on the lack of game practice for the Super Kings. As for the picks, back the Capitals to post the most runs in the power play and the highest opening partnership.