🏏IPL 2023: Match 67 - DC vs CSK on 20/05/2023 at 3:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 67 - DC vs CSK at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on 20/05/2023 at 3:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Capitals in the way as CSK look for all-important eighth win

Capitals were the first team to be knocked out, but they can spoil CSK's party

Battle between two excellent spin units

It's a contest between a team very much in the hunt for a top-two finish - but not guaranteed a playoff spot yet - and the team that was the first to be knocked out of the playoffs race but cannot be taken for granted. For Chennai Super Kings, the equation is simple: beat Delhi Capitals in their last group game and cement their spot in the playoffs.

They were in a strong position, but a six-wicket loss at home to Kolkata Knight Riders meant CSK's qualification chances took a bit of a hit. With 15 points from 13 matches, they are in second place currently - level on points with Lucknow Super Giants with a better net run rate. Now, if Capitals come out victorious at home on Saturday, CSK will need one of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians to lose their final games. If CSK win this fixture and LSG lose to KKR in the second game of the day, then MS Dhoni's men will play Qualifier 1 in Chennai.

Saturday's game will also be a clash between the two most economical spin attacks in the competition. Capitals' spinners have taken 24 wickets at an economy of 7.09, whereas CSK's have 35 at 7.55. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav of Capitals, and Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali of CSK feature in the top five in the list of spinners with the best economy rates this season (minimum 100 balls bowled), with Axar topping the chart with an economy rate of 6.95.

Where Capitals have faltered, CSK have not. They have got a lot of runs from their openers Devon Conway (498 in 12 innings) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (425 in 12), while role clarity has led to impactful performances from Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane, with Dhoni providing late fireworks most times. Quick bowlers Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande have picked up 32 wickets between them, with Pathirana one of the standout death bowlers in the competition this season.

That Capitals haven't done well at home this IPL - they have won just two of their six matches - will bode well for CSK. However, if one looks at Capitals' recent form, three wins in their last five matches is much better, more so for a team that has won just five games all season.

Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings Pitch Report

The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi tends to slow down as the game progresses. The batters need to rely more on singles and doubles rather than going for the big shots, while the spinners are expected to play a major role in the game. The average first-innings score at the venue is 140-160.

Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings Weather Forecast

The temperatures in Delhi on Saturday are expected to range between 28 and 42 degree celsius.

Pitch and conditions

The average first-innings score in Delhi this season is 168, and Warner has said the pitches have been "challenging for batters". Pacers have picked up 40 wickets whereas spinners have taken 32 in six games. In terms of the weather, CSK will feel at home with Delhi touching 42°C during the day - this is a 3.30pm start.

Team news

Anrich Nortje replaced the injured Mitchell Marsh in Capitals' previous game. For CSK, if Dube is still carrying a finger niggle, he is likely to be subbed in or out for the third match in a row, and play purely as a batter.

Form guide - (last five completed games, most recent first)

Delhi Capitals WLLWW 

Chennai Super Kings LWWNRL

Impact Player strategy

Prithvi Shaw, who returned to the side in the previous game, against Punjab Kings, and scored a fifty, was substituted with seamer Mukesh Kumar when Capitals bowled. Phil Salt sacrificed his opening slot to Shaw, and that will likely be the formula for the home team on Saturday as well.

Delhi Capitals (probable XII): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Phil Salt (wk), 5 Axar Patel, 6 Aman Khan, 7 Yash Dhull, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Ishant Sharma, 12 Khaleel Ahmed

CSK have more or less stuck to the same XII in the second half of the tournament. Seamer Pathirana will swap in for Ambati Rayudu or Dube when they bowl.

Chennai Super Kings (probable XII): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12 Tushar Deshpande

Stats that matter

• If CSK beat Capitals, they will reach the playoffs for a record 12th time in the IPL. No team has gone past the group stage more times than them, with Mumbai Indians placed second at nine.
• CSK have had rapid starts in the powerplay throughout this season. They score 9.3 runs per over in that phase, which is the second-highest for a team in this IPL.
• Maheesh Theekshana has dismissed Warner three times in six innings but Warner has scored at a decent strike rate of 136.58 against the spinner.
• In the nine T20s they have played against each other, Deepak Chahar has dismissed Shaw six times, allowing the batter to score at a strike rate of 125.00.

Quotes

"Prithvi Shaw is one of the most beautiful batters to watch. And his time off from the playing XI has seemed to give him a chance to focus on the direction he wants to move in. He certainly had an extra bit of fire in the belly in our last game."

Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson on Shaw's form

BATTERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

David Warner,  DC

10 M • 272 Runs • 27.20 Avg • 136.68 SR

Phil Salt,  DC

8 M • 215 Runs • 30.71 Avg • 169.29 SR

Devon Conway,  CSK

10 M • 450 Runs • 64.28 Avg • 135.95 SR

Shivam Dube,  CSK

10 M • 289 Runs • 48.16 Avg • 169 SR

BOWLERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

Mitchell Marsh,  DC

7 M • 11 Wkts • 8.58 Econ • 9.27 SR

Axar Patel,  DC

10 M • 10 Wkts • 6.38 Econ • 21.60 SR

Tushar Deshpande,  CSK

10 M • 14 Wkts • 9.04 Econ • 14.78 SR

Matheesha Pathirana,  CSK

9 M • 13 Wkts • 7.80 Econ • 15.84 SR

DC vs CSK- IPL 2023: Head-to-head record in IPL

Out of the 28 matches played between CSK and DC in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won 18 matches while Delhi Capitals (DC) has won 10 matches so far, And Both teams have played some very closely contested games including the IPL season 2018 Qualifier 1 and IPL season 2016 Qualifier 2. And this gives CSK a clear advantage over DC in terms of head-to-head record.

CSK vs DC Last Five Matches results

In the last five matches played between CSK and DC, DC has won 3 matches while CSK has won 2 matches. This indicates that DC has been the more dominant team in recent times.

If Chennai Super Kings aren't forever in "Que Sera Sera" mode, they are surely there now. "Whatever will be, will be," Michael Hussey announced rather poetically ahead of their last league game against Delhi Capitals, on Friday.

Despite being placed second on the points table, their playoff qualification chances hinge on the result of their last league game. A win secures them the berth, and a loss would leave their fate hanging on the events elsewhere in the competition (they will need one of LSG, MI or RCB to lose). That's not the only concern - there's also a top-two finish at stake.

There is complex mathematics at play, and Hussey feels simplification is the best way out of this muddle, the cliched - give it your best shot and ignore the rest.

After all, their opposition aren't carrying that baggage anymore. Delhi Capitals, the first to exit the competition, are taking motivation from getting a chance to spoil the party for the rest, Shane Watson admitted. Without the pressure to win, they brought down Punjab Kings quite emphatically and would be keen to end a disappointing home run with a victory.

However, Watson isn't sure if they can replicate the success of the previous game at their home venue, where they have won only two out of six matches. The pitches at home haven't suited the squad they have assembled, he believes. But whose home ground will it be anyway? For all of DC's branding of 'Neela Pehen Ke Aana (Come wearing blue)" inside the stadium, the hawkers were selling yellow jerseys on the streets a day before the game.

But can the team that wilted under pressure rattle the calmness of CSK on the big day?

What to expect: Mid-May afternoon game, with temperatures expected to touch 43 degree Celsius, is not going to be pleasant - for the players, those working behind the scenes or the crowd. Hussey, based on judgement from how the pitch has played so far, believes it's unlikely to be a high-scorer but doesn't want his side to walk in with any preconceived notions.