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IPL 2018, DD vs CSK: 5 players to look forward to 

Delhi Daredevils (DD) have had a very disappointing campaign in the VIVO IPL 2018. Their season can be compared to that of KXIP where few players have shone, but as a team, they have struggled to stitch together winning performances on a regular basis.

IPL is a tournament where reputations don’t count for much if the players are unable to perform on the given day. A classic example of this would be Gautam Gambhir, who had been a real revelation as a captain and batsman for his former franchise KKR but proved to be a damp squib for DD.

He ended up dropping himself from the team which was a brave yet positive move. It allowed the youngster Shreyas Iyer to take over as the captain and carry the franchise forward. The move to change skippers hasn’t yielded too many positive results but it’s a step in the right direction for DD as they look to build their team for the next few years.

CSK on the other hand, after coming back to the IPL after a hiatus of two years have shown why they are the real bosses of IPL. They became the only franchise to make it to the playoffs in all the nine seasons they have played in. That’s some achievement, displaying how consistent they have been as a franchise.

In tonight’s game, with DD well and truly out of the race for the playoffs, they will look to play for pride, put on a good performance for their fans who have stood by them despite them being 8th on the points table.

CSK would want to address some issues which has plagued their campaign, mainly the bowling in this game against DD at the Kotla. If they win tonight’s fixture, they are assured of a top-two finish, which is enough motivation for CSK.

On a ground where CSK have won four times in the last five games, here’s looking at 5 players to look forward to in tonight’s clash:

Ambati Rayudu

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Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu has announced himself onto the world stage, yet again. He has perennially in and out of the Indian limited overs teams. His lack of consistency cost him a place in the Indian team. He was looking at converting his good form in the domestic circuit into big runs for CSK this IPL.

And that is exactly what he has done. The attacking right hand batsman has got the opportunity to open the batting and has made that position his own. He has effortlessly gone about his business, and has converted the starts into big scores.

And having looked at his performances off late, the Indian selectors have picked him in the limited overs squad for the England series. He’s back in the big league again.

The way he paced his innings against SRH in the chase is enough proof that he’s capable of switching gears when required. After Kedhar Jadhav was ruled out of the IPL with an injury, MS Dhoni would certainly be a relieved man to see how well Ambati Rayudu has stepped up his game.

He is number 5 on the top run scorers in this season of the IPL. With 535 runs in 12 games with an average of 48.64 and strike rate of 152.86, he has certainly been a destructive force at the top of the order.

DD would hope that their pace spearhead Trent Boult can remove him early, if not things are not going to be good for them as Ambati Rayudu in this form can take the game away from DD single-handedly. 

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