Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 167
Win percentage while batting first: 40%
Pitch condition:
- Batting first and putting up a strong total on the board will be the trick to win here as the last 6 matches have been won by teams who batted first at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
- Teams can consider at-par scores in the range of 150 runs as defendable provided they have the requisite depth in their bowling.
- Fast bowlers, who have a wicket-share of 71.02% here at the MCA Stadium in Pune, will hold the key over the spin bowlers who have taken the remaining 28.98% of the dismissals.
Weather prediction:
It will be a partly cloudy day on Sunday in Pune with the temperature hitting a high of 39°C during the afternoon, while the humidity levels will range between 50-60%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 26
Chennai won: 16
Delhi won: 10
No result: -
Top 3 players from Chennai: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Choudhary
Top 3 players from Delhi: David Warner, Rovman Powell, Khaleel Ahmed
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Chennai: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Choudhary, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali
Top 5 players from Delhi: David Warner, Rovman Powell, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant
Q & A:
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
For the contest to be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune where teams who have batted first have won all the last 6 matches of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament. It will be important to have a long batting line-up for this contest backed with a right mix of fast bowling attack, and having a spinner such as Chennai’s Maheesh Theekshana or Delhi’s Kuldeep Yadav, who both have bagged a handful of wickets in the past, would not be a bad idea either. As far as an all-rounder is concerned for selecting the fantasy cricket playing XI, having a batting all-rounder such as Moeen Ali or Axar Patel would be a great call.
Fantasy tips: From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Even though both Chennai and Delhi have endured tough days in the tournament so far, their cricket has not suggested that they are struggling particularly with any specific issue. Delhi certainly needs more from their middle-order and so do Chennai, the bowling department is what separates these two teams. Delhi, in this context, are stronger since they are not only better-placed — 5th spot in points table — but also have some in-form bowlers such as Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed, who have done exceedingly well so far.
MORE INFORMATION: Chennai and Delhi were two extremely formidable and strong units until the mega auction this year. The talent drain has certainly weakened them in overall perspective, but certain things have started to fall in the right place for both the teams. David Warner has eased into the role of a batting aggressor at the top without any qualms, and in Devon Conway, Chennai seem to have found an excellent partner for Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top. The refurbishment of their bowling has given Delhi the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed.
PLAYERS’ FORM: Both Chennai and Delhi are top-heavy batting line-ups and a shaky start with the bat can leave them both precariously played. But if their opening pairs — Ruturaj Gaikwad-Devon Conway for Chennai and David Warner-Prithvi Shaw for Delhi — manage to get off the blocks early on, there is a possibility that the contest could be a run-fest. Delhi will also hope that their bowlers continue to take giant strides as a unit, while Chennai will want to be more aggressive and imposing with both, bat and the ball. Chennai will also hope that their all-round strength in Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Dwaine Pretorius fire in unison.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
CHENNAI: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
DELHI: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw/Mandeep Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed.
FANTASY XI: David Warner, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Maheesh Theekshana, Khaleel Ahmed (vc), Mukesh Choudhary.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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