IPL Betting: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

Indian Premier League - IPL / Tobias Gourlay / 18 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Sehwag and the Daredevils can reduce the Super Kings to ashes.

Tobias Gourlay reckons Virender Sehwag will smoke the Super Kings.

Venue and Conditions

The early game on Friday is in Delhi. Ahead of the first match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday there were concerns that the pitch might be a little too bowler-friendly (an ODI was abandoned for that reason a few months ago). It turned out to be even-paced and Sachin Tendulkar-friendly (Lord's apart, where isn't?) as a 32-ball outburst from the Little Master helped the Mumbai Indians to 218-7, which was almost 100 runs too good for their hosts. So if Delhi or Chennai have some Tendulkars in their ranks, they'll be just fine.

Team News

A hamstring injury to Delhi's Gautam Gambhir and a hit on the arm for Chennai's MS Dhoni have left both teams without their captains for this game. A couple of younger Indian internationals will replace them: Dinesh Karthik comes in for Gambhir and Suresh Raina for Dhoni.

Delhi are most likely to promote Tillakaratne Dilshan to open, as he did in Gambhir's absence from the batting lineup against Mumbai, and bring in a bits-and-pieces man like Rajat Bhatia. There is an alternative, however: Australian biffer David Warner, who scored a half-century against the Super Kings last year, is just about over some back problems and could come straight into the top of the order, but to meet the four-foreigners rule one of Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Farvees Maharoof or Dirk Nannes would have to be dropped.

Dhoni's unavailability means Chennai's gloves will go to Parthiv Patel, one of his predecessors at international level.

Match Odds

The Daredevils are [1.68] favourites to win their fifth meeting with the Super Kings and take a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head series. The capital-based franchise retain the potential for a big first-innings total, even if one has not yet materialised and, even if Paul Collingwood has not yet materialised from Bangladesh, the loss of a relatively sensible batsman like Gambhir is probably not as big as Chennai's loss of Dhoni, who was wicketkeeper, leading batsman and captain all in one.

The Daredevils also look to have the better bowling unit. Dirk Nannes has a very good 6.16 economy rate. Farveez Maharoof's economy rate is less impressive, but he has already taken five wickets. Two matches is a slender basis upon which to judge Chennai's bowlers, but the fact they took only one wicket in 20 overs against the Deccan Chargers (there were three run-outs) is not encouraging.

Top Runscorer

Virender Sehwag has come closer to looking like Sachin Tendulkar than any other batsman in the history of cricket, and the Nawab of Najafgarh will be favourite to be Delhi's top runscorer when the market matures. No one else has any sort of form and, unless you take the view that Dilshan or de Villiers is 'due a big one,' it's hard to oppose Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World 2009.

The absent MS Dhoni was in the midst of a two-runs-a-ball 66 when he was injured and was Chennai's top runscorer in both of their first two matches (joint with Albie Morkel in their opening defeat to the Deccan Chargers). None of his team-mates has reached 50 runs for the tournament yet. His opening partner, Matthew Hayden, has an average of 9 and a strike rate under 100 to this point, but will likely lead the Chennai market. Competition comes from Raina, who will probably bat at five, and the middle-order bashers - Morkel and Justin Kemp - scheduled to come in just below their new captain, but the value might lie with Subramaniam Badrinath, newly capped at Test level by India and maker of a very sound 43* last time out.

Any Other Market

If Delhi bat first, Sehwag + Dilshan/Warner = two good reasons to believe Delhi have a fair chance of scoring at least 10 runs in the first over.

Trivia

With Stadium End and Pavilion End, the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium recently won Betfair's first Most Boring End Names in World Cricket Award.

Tobias Gourlay Says: Back 10 or more First Over Runs at [3.55] if Delhi bat first