Delhi Capitals (DC) will be missing the services of their key spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the crucial clash against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday (March 31). The Delhi-based team has had a rough start to their IPL 2024 campaign, suffering defeats in both of their initial matches. In their opening encounter, they failed to defend a total of 173 runs against Punjab Kings, eventually losing by four wickets.
This was followed by another setback against Rajasthan Royals, where they fell short by 12 runs while chasing a target of 186. With two losses in a row, DC finds themselves among the two teams yet to secure a victory in IPL 2024, adding pressure to their upcoming fixture against CSK.
However, DC will have to face this challenge without their prominent spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Captain Rishabh Pant confirmed Yadav’s absence during the toss and cited a niggle as the reason. Pant also announced the return of Ishant Sharma to the playing eleven after missing the previous game due to an ankle injury.
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“We’ll bat first. Wicket looks good, we want to use it as a batting track, put runs on the board. (On playing home games in Vizag) I think it makes a lot of difference, but we practiced here. We came here and got 10 days at this wicket. Two changes – Kuldeep had a niggle, Prithvi Shaw comes in. Ricky Bhui is out, Ishant Sharma comes in,” said Rishabh Pant.
In the previous encounters, Kuldeep Yadav showcased his effectiveness with the ball, securing three wickets overall. Despite a praiseworthy performance against Punjab Kings where he conceded only 20 runs and took two wickets, he struggled against Rajasthan Royals, conceding 41 runs while managing just one wicket.
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Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
