Handed a shock defeat in their tournament opener, former champions Chennai Super Kings would be eager to bounce back against Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) today
Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni appeals against Kings XI Punjab�������¢����������������s Akshar Patel last Friday. PTI Photo/BCCI.
Abu Dhabi: Handed a shock defeat in their tournament opener, former champions Chennai Super Kings would be eager to bounce back against a Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League IPL today.
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Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni appeals against Kings XI Punjab’s Akshar Patel last Friday. PTI Photo/BCCI.
Both start with a loss
Chennai lost to Kings XI Punjab by six wickets on Friday despite posting a mammoth 205 on the scoreboard. The two-time IPL champions were found wanting in the bowling department as Punjab chased down the seemingly tough target with seven balls to spare.
Delhi, on the other hand, got their act together against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday after the huge loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening match.
CSK bowling falters
Super Kings’ batting however seemed to be in good touch with openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum smashing half-centuries. But the bowling fell apart in the face of a brutal onslaught by Glenn Maxwell and David Miller. The pace of neither Ashish Nehra nor Mohit Sharma caused much discomfort to the rivals. Even off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin failed to come good.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men will have to rethink their bowling combination going ahead as the one which took the field against Punjab lacked bite.
Quick recovery by DD
Delhi had also opened their campaign with a loss but recovered rather quickly by beating Kolkata. Their batting, which produced a shoddy display in the absence of an injured Kevin Pietersen in the opening match, came across much better in the second game.
Highlights of the effort were half-centuries by captain Dinesh Karthik and JP Duminy while chasing a competitive 167 for victory.
Pietersen doubtful
Pietersen could miss today’s game too with an injured finger as he has for the first two games of the tournament. He yesterday shared an image of his injury on Instagram.
Delhi also have their share of bowling woes to deal with and it could well be a batsmen’s game when the two sides clash today.
IPL on TV: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, Live on Set Max and Sony Six, 20:00
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