🏏IPL 2026: CSK vs DC, 18th Match, MACS, Chennai🏏 - Page 6

Gaikwad says he would have bowled first too on this red-soil pitch. But he adds that the strip is on the drier side, so they were a little 50-50 on the decision. Batting has been doing well, he mentions, and says there have been few moments that they should have been catching on. Good to have Brevis back, says Gaikwad. Gurjapneet is in the side too, replacing Henry. MS is watching from the hotel but he hopes he will play really soon.

Henry was my bowler and MOM Not playing today.

Brevis in

Originally posted by: whitedeer

how are we feeling today?

No idea — like I’m not too hopeful but I still think today can be a turning point!

It is time for the toss. Axar and Gaikwad out there in the middle. Gaikwad has the coin. Axar to call. Axar calls tails, and tails it is. DC will bowl first. Axar says the wicket looks good and they are backing themselves to chase a score. Dressing room atmosphere is very chill and he says they are talking about controlling things they can control. Hopefully they can do well tonight, he adds. Two changes, says Axar. Nabi plays, along with Ashutosh. Nitish and Vipraj go out.

Gaikwad says he would have bowled first too on this red-soil pitch. But he adds that the strip is on the drier side, so they were a little 50-50 on the decision. Batting has been doing well, he mentions, and says there have been few moments that they should have been catching on. Good to have Brevis back, says Gaikwad. Gurjapneet is in the side too, replacing Henry. MS is watching from the hotel but he hopes he will play really soon.

Axar Patel: We would like to bowl first because the pitch looks good, and whatever score is set, we would prefer to chase it. The IPL is a long tournament and the dressing room atmosphere is very relaxed. The discussion has been around focusing on what we can control, once we reach a certain point, there’s no need to overthink things. So that’s been the mindset, control what’s in our hands. The mood is good. If you look at the balance of our side, we have almost all bases covered. Obviously, based on the options we had, I think we’ve picked a very good combination. Compared to last year, the team looks more balanced and hopefully, we perform well today. As for the surface, it has been a good batting wicket this season. Over the last couple of years in Chennai, it has played well. It’s a red soil pitch, so there should be good bounce. Our aim will be to restrict them to as low a total as possible and then chase it down. There are two changes. Nabi comes in for Vipraj, and Ashutosh Sharma replaces Nitish Rana.

Axar says the wicket looks good and they are backing themselves to chase a score. Dressing room atmosphere is very chill and he says they are talking about controlling things they can control. Hopefully they can do well tonight, he adds. Two changes, says Axar. Nabi plays, along with Ashutosh. Nitish and Vipraj go out.

Chennai Super Kings batting-first XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurjapneet Singh

CSK bench: Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry

Delhi Capitals bowling-first XI: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

DC bench: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana

Delhi Capitals bowling-first XI: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

Delhi Capitals bowling-first XI: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

DC bench: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana