Follow UsChennai Super Kings are all but out of the Indian Premier League 2022 playoff race but Delhi Capitals are still there in the mix and have got their fate in their own hands. The Men in Yellow have lost seven of their 10 encounters, while Delhi have won five and lost five. Rishabh Pant and Co. have the second-best NRR (+0.641) in the competition, which surely would come in handy later in the tournament, but are yet to win two games in a row. CSK have been struggling in all three departments and the Capitals would be eager to end on the right side of the result and get those two crucial points to put themselves in a better position in the points table.
Batters doing the job for Delhi
Delhi have the best scoring rate (9.3), balls/boundary (4.7) and the second-best batting average (31.7) in the IPL 2022, with the likes of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell all operating at a strike rate of more than 150. Pant is yet to score a fifty this season but has seven 25-plus scores in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Powell only managed 31 runs in the first six games but has scores of 67*, 35, 33* and 36 in the last four innings. However, it’s Warner who has once again returned back to his absolute best after having a mediocre season with Sunrisers Hyderabad last year.
The left-handed opener missed the first two matches but is still Delhi’s highest run-scorer this season, with the second-best (Pant - 260) being almost 100 runs behind. In eight innings, the 35-year-old has slammed 356 runs at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 156.8. This is only the second time in the IPL where Warner has an average and strike rate of more than 50 and 150 respectively. He was almost as invincible as Virat Kohli in the 2016 edition but even then his strike rate was 151.4.
The Capitals were without Prithvi Shaw (unwell) in the previous game against Hyderabad and they needed a big knock from their experienced campaigner and Warner didn’t disappoint. He smashed 92* off 58 deliveries and helped his team cross the 200-run mark for the third time this season. However, Delhi would want a bit more from Mitchell Marsh. The all-rounder from Australia doesn’t have a big score yet but has looked in pretty good touch. On top of that, he also bowled his full quota of four overs in the last game.
The year of Khaleel Ahmed
The left-armer has been one of the most impressive seamers in this year’s IPL. The 24-year-old has claimed 14 wickets in seven games at an economy of 7.85. Kuldeep Yadav (18) is the only DC bowler who has picked up more wickets than Khaleel but the left-arm wristspinner has played three more games. Khaleel has picked up at least one wicket in every game and has been impressive across all three phases. Amongst pacers who have bowled at least 25 overs in this edition, Khaleel has the sixth-best economy. He also has the second-best average (15.7) among bowlers who have taken at least 10 wickets this season.
Conway, Theekshana making a mark
Not many things have gone right for Chennai but the team management would be delighted with the way Devon Conway and Maheesh Theekshana have gone about their business in their debut season. In CSK’s first eight matches, the left-handed opener played only one game but has straightaway made an impact after being brought back in the XI. Conway has scored 56 and 85* in the last two encounters and has put up partnerships of 54 and 182 with Ruturaj Gaikwad. He starts slow but makes up in the middle and death overs. Conway has a strike rate of 97 in the first six overs but that goes up to 172.6 once the powerplay ends.
However, no other CSK player has been as consistent as Theekshana. The mystery spinner from Sri Lanka has scalped 11 wickets in seven innings at an economy rate of 7.42. No other fingerspinner has picked up more wickets than Theekshana in this year’s IPL. He has also been pretty good in the death overs (16-20), operating at an economy of just 5.8. Amongst bowlers who have bowled at least five overs in this phase, Theekshana has the second-best economy after Sunil Narine (4.8).
Probable XIs
Chennai Super Kings - Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwaine Pretorius, Simarjeet Singh/Rajvardhan Hangargekar/KM Asif, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana.
Delhi Capitals - David Warner, Mandeep Singh/Prithvi Shaw (subject to fitness), Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Ripal Patel/Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Anrich Nortje.
(All stats till May 6, 2022)