IPL 2021 Preview: MS Dhoni’s CSK tackle Rishabh Pant’s DC of their season opener

It will likely be a battle between the “young apprentice and his master” when Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings sq. off in an IPL match right here on Saturday, with either side aiming for a profitable begin to their marketing campaign.
The Delhi franchise ended runners-up final season within the UAE and could be aiming to go one higher this time and an excellent begin could be what they are going to be on the lookout for.
Three-time champions CSK had a forgettable season final 12 months, ending at seventh out of eight groups and they’d even be searching for a profitable begin of their bid to make amends of a poor IPL 2020.
Keeper-batsman Pant, anointed to captaincy within the absence of injured Shreyas Iyer, has stated not too long ago that he would put his studying from Dhoni to make use of in DC’s season opener.
“My first match as captain will be against Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). It will be a good experience for me as I have learned a lot from him. I’ll apply my own experience and learning from him,” Pant had stated not too long ago.

.@RishabhPant17 can’t resist himself behind the stumps, even throughout follow 🎙️😆#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #DCAllAccess @SamBillings @OctaFX pic.twitter.com/yQEV3bXB7j
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 8, 2021
Delhi’s robust batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fireside on all cylinders proper from the opening recreation.
Dhawan (618 runs) was the second highest run-scorer in IPL 2020 and seemed in good contact within the latest ODI collection in opposition to England. He could be raring to go this season.
Shaw will likely be itching to show his value after amassing 827 runs within the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It is most probably that Shaw and Dhawan would open.
Captain Pant, a hard-hitting batsman, is within the type of his life, having emerged as a match-winner for India within the collection in opposition to Australia and England. He want to proceed his good run.
The Delhi group additionally possesses the likes of all-rounder Marcus Stonis, Shimron Hetymar and Sam Billings however must get their group mixture proper, as solely 4 abroad gamers can function within the taking part in XI.
They have sufficient choices to select from the battery of pacers comprising Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Umesh Yadav, Chris Woakes and Anrich Nortje.
Even if the South African duo of Rabada and Nortje misses out the primary recreation as they joined the group only a few days again, DC have sufficient firepower and expertise within the bowling division.
Also, taking part in a key position on a sluggish Wankhede observe could be the spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra, although Axar Patel won’t be accessible as he examined constructive for COVID-19 final Saturday.

Saahore Bahubali!
1⃣5⃣0⃣ IPL games3⃣5⃣0⃣0⃣+ runs1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣+ runs in #Yellove! #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/1hr5SqChLy
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 8, 2021
On the opposite hand, Chennai will likely be bolstered by the return of the skilled batsman Suresh Raina, who’s their all-time main run-scorer, with 5,368 runs.
Raina will strengthen the top-order, which has the likes of younger Ruturaj Gaikwad, South African Faf Du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu.
With the likes of younger Sam Curran, who nearly pulled off a win for England within the remaining ODI in opposition to India, and Moeen Ali, together with nice finisher Dhoni, Chennai even have a steady middle-order.
Their bowling assault will likely be led by the ever-improving Shardul Thakur, who can even bat, and Deepak Chahar. And then there may be Ravindra Jadeja, the wily left-arm spinner, who will also be helpful with the bat.
Behind the closed doorways on the Wankhede Stadium, which was ravaged by a slew of COVID-19 circumstances earlier than it was cleared to host matches, it stays to be seen whether or not Pant is ready to outsmart Dhoni, or ‘MSD’ has his method.

Delhi Capitals Squad: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings.
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, Okay Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujra, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.