CSK v DC Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2020 match
Three-time champions Chennai Super Kings will step onto the field for what will be their third match of IPL 2020, when they face off against the Delhi Capitals later today at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
MS Dhoni's CSK commenced their campaign with a morale-boosting five-wicket win against defending champions Mumbai Indians, but in their second match, they fell to a 16-run loss against the Rajasthan Royals.
As for the Delhi Capitals, the top-order was blown away by a Mohammed Shami special. It was an all-round performance from Marcus Stoinis that took the match into a Super Over where Kagiso Rabada's two wickets in three balls set the stage for a comfortable DC victory.
CSK have had the wood over their opponents in recent times, having won the last three encounters between the two sides. And, with MS Dhoni keen to see his side get back to winning ways, we could be in for a cracker of a Chennai v Delhi contest.
IPL 2020: Chennai v Delhi match prediction
Coming into the competition, DC were heralded as one of the batting units to look out for, but barring Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant's performances, there wasn't much to write home about in their first match against KXIP.
As for CSK, Faf du Plessis has been their knight in shining armour with two half-centuries in as many matches. And, with two familiar names leading DC's bowling unit in the form of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, there's no doubt that du Plessis will have to shoulder the responsibility of nullifying the DC pacers' threat today.
Although CSK's bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the Royals' batsmen - Sanju Samson and Steve Smith in particular - the stadium in Dubai has longer boundaries, and Piyush Chawla's experience could come in very handy for Dhoni.
The only pressing issue for the CSK captain would be the hammering that Lungi Ngidi and Ravindra Jadeja have taken in IPL 2020 thus far, with both of them conceding in excess of 10 RPO this season.
While Dhoni's philosophy of backing players for the long run does come into discussion, it would be interesting to see if Ngidi does indeed make way for Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood.
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On the batting front, Shane Watson is yet to get into his groove, and today could well be the day that the Australian conjures up a special show. And, while DC certainly have Rabada as their strike bowler, the rest of the bowling unit will have a big task at hand if the burly opener gets going.
It remains to be seen if Ravichandran Ashwin's injury has an impact on how he is used in this game, if he even plays, that is. But barring Rabada and Ashwin, the rest of the bowling unit is not as fiery as DC might have wanted.
Mohit Sharma has hadn't the best of seasons coming into IPL 2020 (Read 9 wickets from 11 matches in the last three editions of IPL), and Axar Patel hasn't really made an impact as a strike bowler in recent times.
And so, if CSK negotiate the new ball threat, they've certainly got the batting unit to put on a big score or chase the target that they've been set.
Prediction: CSK to win