The 13th edition of the
Indian Premier League unfolded with drastically contrasting outcomes for Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.
CSK failed to make the playoffs after a long time and Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, deservingly reached the finals.
While MS Dhoni and Co. will try to wash out the memories of their previous campaign and start afresh, Delhi Capitals will start a new chapter under the leadership of Rishabh Pant.
If we look at the history between the two teams, they have played each other 23 times in the league with CSK winning 15 matches and DC winning the other 8.
Last year, Shreyas Pant's Delhi met Chennai twice and defeated them on both occasions quite comfortably.
With the two teams set to meet again in
IPL 2021's second fixture on April 10, here are some exciting player battles that could well unfold.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan vs Imran Tahir
Shikhar Dhawan was DC's leading run-scorer last season with 618 runs.
In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, the opener will be expected to take over as the team's no. 1 run-getter.
In order to stop him from becoming a run-machine right from the beginning, CSK might use Imran Tahir.
Even though CSK didn't use the South African much the last time around, he has a great IPL record with 80 wickets in 58 matches.
Dhawan and Tahir have not faced each other a lot in the league.
The former has managed to score 11 runs off 8 balls from the leg-spinner.
While Tahir has dismissed him only once, it is worth mentioning that last year CSK managed to dismiss Dhawan only once via Piyush Chawla, who is also a leg-spinner like Tahir.
#4 Prithvi Shaw vs Deepak Chahar
Prithvi Shaw had an underwhelming season last year. But, after his record-breaking performance at the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shaw seems ready for the IPL.
And if he continues his red-hot form against CSK, he might create some big troubles for the
Yellow Army.
However, it would be interesting to see how he fares against Deepak Chahar.
The 28-year-old, who has taken a total of 45 wickets in 49 matches in the IPL, has a terrific record against the Delhi Capital's batsman.
While Shaw has managed to score 38 runs off 39 balls by Chahar, the pacer has dismissed him 5 times.
#3 Rishabh Pant vs Shardul Thakur
Delhi's newly appointed captain has huge responsibilities on his shoulders this time. But that won't excuse him from his batting duties.
As one of the most important names in DC's batting line-up, Pant will try to replicate his recent performance in international fixtures and lead his team to the title.
Speaking of his record against CSK, Pant has scored a total of 222 runs from 6 games at a strike rate of 162.04, and he will try to improve this record during the upcoming match.
Honestly, Lungi Ngidi should have been the one against Pant in this battle. Since he is set to miss the upcoming game, Shardul Thakur will be handed the task of sending the skipper back to the pavilion.
Thakur has never dismissed Pant in the IPL but since both of them have played together for Team India, the bowling all-rounder might have some tricks up his sleeve to peg Pant back.
Furthermore, Thakur is in excellent form after his exploits against England in the recent series.
#2 Faf du Plessis vs Umesh Yadav
Faf Du Plessis has a decent record against the Delhi Capitals as he has scored 331 runs from 11 games at a strike rate of 119.06.
The South African batsman is also one of CSK's most consistent player in the line-up. Therefore, he will be expected to fire against DC on April 10.
During the two matches CSK played against DC last year, Kagiso Rabada dismissed him both times.
However, since Rabada and his pace partner Anrich Nortje are out of the first fixture, Du Plessis will have the chance to go big.
In the absence of their lead pacers, DC is likely to put their faith in Indian fast bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma.
Since Yadav was recently acquired during the auction, he will have to prove his worth to cement his place. If he manages to take out or at least restrict Du Plessis, it would improve his chances to play more matches in IPL 2021.
#1 R Ashwin vs Suresh Raina
The friends-to-enemies trope is quite common in franchise tournaments like the IPL and is always exciting to watch.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was a crucial part of CSK a few years back, will be back to face his ex-teammates in Suresh Raina.
While both of them share a mutual appreciation for each other off the field, during the game, it will be all about who wins.
Raina will be making a comeback after retiring from international cricket last year and opting out of CSK's 2020 contingent in dramatic fashion after losing members of his extended family back home in India.
This time around, he will attempt to bring CSK back to its glorious days by scoring as many runs as he can.
The former Indian international will also try to breach the 6,000 run mark this year.
On the other hand, there is Ashwin who has played 5 matches against Chennai Super Kings and claimed 6 wickets.
If we look at their head-to-head records, Raina has managed to score 37 runs off 42 balls by Ashwin. While Ashwin has dismissed him only once, he clearly knows how to restrict a hard-hitting player like Raina.
