In a contest between two of the most formidable sides in the IPL 2021 so far, clinical Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will square off against fearless Delhi Capitals (DC) today at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Both CSK and DC are in terrific form given the promising performances they have put up as a unit with fine contributions from both their bowling and batting departments. As a result, they became the first two teams to officially qualify for the playoffs and currently occupy the number one (CSK) and number two (DC) spots.
Free Press Journal conducted a poll on Twitter ahead of the match which will commence today at 7:30 pm. The poll was conducted to find out which of the two teams will win the battle on field today.
Poll results indicate that there are more possibilities of Chennai Super Kings winning the game against Delhi Capitals as 53.6% of the cricket fans have voted in favor of the MS Dhoni led side while only 46.4% of them have voted for Rishabh Pant's troops.
When the two sides last encountered each other during the first leg of the league, the Capitals chased down an imposing target of 189 runs comprehensively with 7 wickets in hand against the three time champion side.
For the Super Kings, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis have been providing them with excellent starts at the top. While the former is now the second-highest run-getter in this season, scoring 508 runs in 12 outings, the latter is the fifth highest run-scorer of the 2021 edition and has picked 460 runs so far. Not to forget, their stalwart Ravindra Jadeja too has been offering his fine all round services to the team and has amassed 211 runs this season with a strike rate of 154.01 along with clinching 8 wickets. However, the Dhoni led side will walk into the game tonight riding on the back of a 7 wicket loss against under dogs Rajasthan Royals.
Meanwhile, the Capitals too are witnessing both their batters and bowlers firing up in the games. Explosive opener Shikhar Dhawan (462 runs) is the fourth highest run scorer while pacer Avesh Khan has been consistent with the ball and has added extra sharpness to DC bowling unit. He is also the second highest wicket taker (21 wickets) in the tournament. Skipper Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer too have been in great form.
Coming to the pitch conditions, the Dubai track provides decent assistance to both batters and bowlers. However, out of the three venues used in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021, this has been the best one to bat on.
