The first qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be played between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 10. CSK and DC both were teh first teams to qualify for the playoffs for this season. After the league stage, while, DC is standing at the top of the points table as they have won 10 out of their 14 league games, CSK is just behind them with 9 wins in 14 league-stage matches.
In their last game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dubai, CSK suffered a 6-wicket loss. n the very last over. Batting first, CSK stacked managed to registered a below-par score of 134 runs with Faf du Plessis scoring a half-century, but RRPBKS chase in down in the 13 overs itself. On the other hand, DC also suffered a close loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Dubai. Batting first, DC managed to reach a total of 164 runs, however, RCB chased down this total in the final over with a last-ball six.
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These two teams have met 25 times so far in IPL history, where CSK won 15 matches while DC has won 10 games. The last time these two teams met, in UAE, DC won the game by 3 wickets. As both teams have two chances to reach teh final, the game becomes even more important as the winner will directly reach the IPL 2021 final.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Delhi Capitals, who have been playing with just the three overseas players, are still waiting for Marcus Stoinis to regain fitness. Their captain Rishabh Pant sounded hopeful on Friday that Stoinis will be available on Sunday and will take the place of Ripal Patel. A bid to stop CSK’s prolific opening combination could be through the way of spin. In R Ashwin and Axar Patel, they have the right kind of personnel to try it out.
Probable XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis/ Ripal Patel, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Patel
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
With Sam Curran out, Super Kings’ pace-bowling allrounder will surely be Dwayne Bravo. The only decision they might have to choose between Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa, with the latter being the favourite. The extra pace of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada could be one of the threats for the CSK’s middle-order batsmen given their unfavorable match-up against such bowling.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa/ Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Rishabh Pant (c), Faf du Plessis, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Axar Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Anrich Nortje, Shardul Thakur (vc), Deepak Chahar.
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel (vc), Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar
