How do you come back from the dead not once, but twice? It is the Stoinis formula. The formula is simple. 20-ball fifty + two wickets in the final two balls gives you an unlikely win. Delhi Capitals will have to thank Marcus Stoinis for their unlikeliest win against Kings XI Punjab. Delhi were dead and buried when they were 100/6 in 17 overs but Stoinis alone smashed 57 runs in three overs, especially 30 runs in the final over bowled by Chris Jordan.
Then, with the ball, filling up for Ravichandran Ashwin’s injury, Stoinis bowled three overs and more importantly, the last over. After being hit for a six and a catch dropped which resulted in a four, the scores were tied. Yet, Stoinis refused to give up. He took two wickets in two balls and the match went into the Super Over. Kagiso Rabada, boosted by the IPL 2019 Super Over against Andre Russell in the Kolkata Knight Riders clash, came up trumps to bowl them out for 2 and seal the win.
The determination shown by Delhi Capitals will have to be replicated in dollops against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. If there is one major bogey team for the Delhi Capitals, it is Chennai Super Kings. Out of 21 matches, Delhi Capitals have just won six and lost 15, meaning they win only once in two editions. In the last five games, they have lost four.
They may have a chance this time though. MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings have been rattled by the onslaught of Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer and Steve Smith in Sharjah. Their bowling looked out of ideas and their batting was not helped by MS Dhoni’s decision to not come up the order. With the openers still not clicking into full gear, it might be tough for Chennai Super Kings to get over the Delhi Capitals.
Team News
Ambati Rayudu, who missed the game against Rajasthan Royals due to an injury, is likely to miss out on this match as well as he has not yet recovered from it. There is no news about Ravichandran Ashwin, with Shreyas Iyer saying that he might be available but the call will rest with the team physio. Amit Mishra might come in. With Lungi Ngidi getting some harsh treatment, he might have to make way for either Imran Tahir or Josh Hazlewood.
Probable Playing 11s
Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni(w/c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Lungi Ngidi/Imran Tahir
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Mohit Sharma
Match details
Match: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals
Date and Time: 25th September, 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Statistics
Delhi Capitals have the worst head-to-head record against Chennai Super Kings, winning just one out of their last five games in the last two editions of the IPL.
