Delhi Capitals won their first game, as did the Chennai Super Kings. Delhi Capitals have in their ranks the new star of Indian cricket, a young man by the name of Rishabh Pant.
CSK have Mahendra Singh Dhoni, perhaps the most popular cricketer to have played for India – Yes, even more popular than Sachin Tendulkar. Just listen to the “Dhoni Dhoni” chants and compared them to the “Sachin Sachin” chants from the past.
Rishabh, everyone says, is the new Dhoni. He proved that with his brilliant innings in the last game, making 79 off just 28 balls. This is no ordinary player. Young, aggressive and fearless.
But Dhoni is Dhoni. There is none like him. Dhoni may be an aging lion, but he is a lion alright. This contest between Rishabh and Dhoni is exciting and is guaranteed to draw a massive, massive audience.
Who wins this contest will decide who wins the match. Delhi Capitals look like a mean batting outfit, mainly because of Rishabh. He is pretty much the most important player in their line-up. If he gets out cheap, they are likely to struggle.
CSK, on the other hand, have a bunch of players who have excelled in different situations. They are a team of veterans – most of them in their 30s, and who have won the IPL multiple times.
The Feroz Shah Kotla pitch is one that favors pace bowlers. One expects the Delhi Capitals team to make the most of it. They have Chris Morris, Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada, perhaps the best young fast bowler in the world today apart from Jaspreet Bumrah of India.
CSK have a fast bowker similar to Rabada, his compatriot Lungi Ngidi, but he is injured and ruled out of this entire season of the IPL. They have to make do what they got. They have no international quality fast bowlers, and that is a concern.
The Teams
Delhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Colin Ingram, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris/Keemo Paul, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ishant Sharma
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 David Willey, 9 Harbhajan Singh/Imran Tahir, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Shardul Thakur
Prediction: Tight match, but Delhi Capitals have youth and momentum in their favor and may just score an upset win here. Watch out for the battle between Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni!
