Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be locking horns with Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 55th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. The return of MS Dhoni as the skipper of CSK hasn’t brought much change in the team’s fortunes and they are out of the race for the playoffs after the loss in the previous game.
However, they will still be looking to end up high in the points table which will be a confidence booster for them going into the next edition. On the other hand, DC managed to pull off a dominating win in their last game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and managed to pull off a win despite big guns like Prithvi Shaw and Axar Patel suffering niggles.
ALSO READ: Match 55 (CSK vs DC) – Probable XI And Fantasy XI
The return of Anrich Nortje will also be an addition as he has been bowling at some serious pace in the armory and he is likely to hold on to his place. It will be interesting to see if Prithvi Shaw and Axar Patel are fit as they will be walking into the playing XI. In the 26 meetings between the two sides in IPL so far, CSK is leading the charts 16-10 against DC in the head-to-head battles. In the last 5 meetings, however, it’s 4-1 in favor of DC.
Both RCB and CSK have had veteran players who know exactly what to do in these scenarios and ahead of the much-awaited mid-week blockbuster, We take a look at the player battles to watch out for.
#1 Moeen Ali vs Rishabh Pant
The dual between Moeen Ali and Rishabh Pant in the middle overs will be crucial Ali Jadeja has dismissed Maxwell once in 22 deliveries they have had in the IPL. Despite his breezy start in the previous game against SRH, the DC skipper was dismissed just as he looked to ease in. He has amassed 260 runs from 10 matches, while Ali, with just two wickets in the season so far, will look to get a move on.
#2 Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Anirch Nortje
Ruturaj Gaikwad played a phenomenal knock of 99 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Other masterful innings against DC will be just what CSK will hope for. However, he has to negate the swing and bounce of former DC pacer, Anrich Nortje. The Proteas seamer has been in decent form with his franchise, having scalped 1 wicket from two matches. HazleortjeNwood dismantling the CSK top order may tilt the result in DC’s favor.
#3 David Warner vs Maheesh Theekshana
David Warner managed to score his four fifties of the season in IPL 2022, and his fiery innings were seen as one of the reasons for their win against SRH. Mahesh Theekshana was effective with the ball for Chennai. With Warner now opening the innings, MS Dhoni might just be tempted to throw the ball to the Sri Lankan spinner and see if he can get rid of the new opening combo again.
