Three-time champions Team Chennai will take on last year’s finalists Team Delhi in the second match of the Indian T20 League 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 10.
The MS Dhoni-led Chennai will look to make amends with a winning start after a disastrous Indian T20 League campaign last year in UAE, finishing seventh in the eight-team tournament - their worst ever finish in the league history.
The franchise has already received a massive boost with the return of their all-time leading run-scorer Suresh Raina (5,368 runs in 193 matches), who had pulled out of the last edition in UAE citing personal reasons.
Chennai will depend on 24-year-old Maharashtra batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad and former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis for solid starts in the batting department. Gaikwad registered three consecutive fifties in Chennai's last three matches of the 2020 edition, while Faf amassed 449 runs in 13 games last season.
The franchise has also roped in two quality all-rounders in Krishnappa Gowtham and Moeen Ali at the mini-auction held in February this year.
However, Chennai’s biggest concern will be that most of their top players haven't played any cricket for some time. While MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina retired from all forms of international cricket in 2020, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been out of action since January, having injured his thumb in India’s tour of Australia.
On the other hand, Team Delhi will look to continue their good run in the Indian T20 League under their new leader Rishabh Pant, who has been handed the captaincy in place of injured Shreyas Iyer.
Delhi have one of the most balanced sides in the tournament this year and they would be aiming to go one better this time after finishing runners-up last year.
The franchise will depend on their strong batting lineup of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself to post huge totals right from the opening game.
Delhi will, however, miss the services of their South African duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje in their first match of this season, having arrived in India on April 6 and are currently undergoing a strict seven-day quarantine.
The Chennai vs Delhi head-to-head record outrightly favours the MS Dhoni-led side, who have won 15 of the 23 matches played between these two teams.
Where to watch Chennai vs Delhi live in India?
The Chennai vs Delhi Indian T20 League match will be telecast live at 7:30 PM IST on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD TV channels in India, on Saturday, April 10.
Live streaming of Chennai vs Delhi will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.
SportsAdda will bring you Chennai vs Delhi live scores from the Indian T20 League.
Featured photo: BCCI.
