IPL 2019, Qualifier 2: One brave decision Chennai Super Kings should make against Delhi
The IPL 2019 season is now a battle among three teams to lift the trophy. Chennai Super Kings will take on Delhi Capitals at Vizag this Friday, and the winner of this game would play the Mumbai Indians in the finals.
Chennai are coming to Vizag after losing the third time against Mumbai this season. MI have also become the first team to beat in IPL history to beat CSK in four consecutive matches.
On the other hand, Delhi would be high on confidence after the victory against SRH in the Eliminator. This has been their best show in IPL history, and they were prevented from finishing on top of the points table only because of net run rate. This is also the first time they have ever won an IPL knockout match.
Chennai Super Kings crushed Delhi by a huge 80-run margin the last time these two teams met, and that would likely be playing on the minds of the DC players. CSK have usually dominated the Capitals in the IPL, winning 14 of their 20 matches.
DC are expected to go with the same playing XI, and the top three in the lineup would be crucial in this high profile encounter. Shikhar Dhawan leads the charts for them with over 500 runs this season, while both Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw scored match winning knocks in the last game and looked in good touch.
Shreyas Iyer had an off game against the Sunrisers, but he has been doing well both as captain and batsman this season.
When it comes to the Chennai Super Kings, the top order has been a huge problem. Very often the defending champions have lost a bunch of wickets in the power-play itself, which means that they have hardly ever got a good start.
Shane Watson has played well in just a few games, and his form is the biggest worry for the team. Unfortunately, they don't have a strong backup player to replace him.
But they can take a brave call by promoting Murali Vijay as an opener along with Faf Du Plessis. Vijay has played well in both the games he has got a chance, and would be comfortable opening the innings.
In such a scenario, Watson would bat number four. That's not something new for the former Australian opening batsman as he has done that in the past in the IPL, and scored nearly 850 runs in 32 innings.
If Chennai lose a couple of wickets early in the innings, it could be the end of the season for them unless someone from the middle order plays a blinder. To avoid that, CSK have to make some brave calls to fix the top order.
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