Delhi will make travel to Chennai to face defending champions tonight in Indian T20 League 2021. Both sides won their previous encounters against Punjab and Hyderabad respectively.
Team Preview
After finishing the Mumbai leg on a positive note, Delhi will now play their next few matches in Chennai and their first task will be up against Mumbai. Both sides will face each other for the first time since their meeting in Indian T20 League final 2020 where Mumbai defeated Delhi to win their 5th record title.
Delhi won two matches out of three in Mumbai and they will now face the tough task of Chennai which is known as the challenging track of the season. In the previous game, they overcame Punjab by 6 wickets to chase down 196, courtesy of Dhawan’s 49-ball 92. It will test the caliber of the batsmen and Ponting will make changes in the squad according to the pitch. Steve Smith was included in the last game and he will play all matches in Chennai. Delhi will include one extra spinner for this surface along with Ashwin. Axar Patel is in quarantine and Amit Mishra will come back in the squad. Avesh Khan, Rabada, Woakes, and Meriwala were four pacers in the last game and Amit Mishra will replace one pacer. Any change in batting is unlikely to happen.
Meanwhile, Mumbai is highly boosted after winning the last two games with a solid comeback. In both games, defending champions changed the game in the last 5 overs. They didn’t get a single wicket against Kolkata and Hyderabad but still managed to defend their score. In the previous game, Hyderabad were 67/0 after 7 overs and Mumbai pulled off a comeback with a fine captaincy and Rahul Chahar’s another spin brilliance. Chahar bagged 7 from last two matches. Pollard’s fire in the end also helped Mumbai to get 150 which is a great sign but they also need to solve their death-overs issues in batting. Mumbai will go ahead with a similar playing XI. Delhi’s spin-attack is stronger than Delhi but batting and toss will decide the game.
Pitch Report
Chennai’s surface is now the toughest one and one more time, a score of 150 would be a competitive total here. The track is getting slow with each game and spinners will have command.
Possible XI
Mumbai
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Adam Milne, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Delhi
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala/Amit Mishra
Key Players
Mumbai
Suryakumar Yadav
Top-scorer for the side so far, has the approach to bat in Chennai
Rahul Chahar
7 scalps in the last 2 games & a key player for this surface
Delhi
Shikhar Dhawan
Orange cap holder & know the conditions of Chennai very well
R Ashwin
Handy pick on Cheapuk, great numbers in Chennai in middle-overs
