Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings IPL Tips: Expect big first-innings runs

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Tuesday 5 May,15:00
TV: Sky Sports

Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings IPL team news

Delhi Capitals will need to win four of their last five to stand a chance of the play-offs. They suffered a disastrous three-game losing sequence to be put under huge pressure before they got back on track with a success over Rajasthan.

That win highlighted their efficiency as a unit and they are likely to look back at missed opportunities come the end of the season. They should have beaten Gujarat, for example. They are too good to be so hard up against it at this stage.

Mitchell Starc has probably arrived too late. DC would be advised to pair him with Lungi Ngidi if he is fit following concussion. Kyle Jamieson should make way.

Possible XI: Rahul, Nissanka, Rana, Rizvi (sub Vipraj), Stubbs, Ashutosh, Axar, Starc, Kuldeep, Ngidi, Natarajan,

Chennai Super Kings are requiring a similar finish to squeeze into the last four. They have been hampered by an unkind fixture list which saw them meet Royals, RCB and Punjab in their first three. They have only lost twice since.

Last time out they beat Mumbai for the second time this season, chasing 159 with ease. CSK have been hit by chronic injuries but their competitiveness at the denouement shows they have recruited well. They remain well-balanced.

Against Mumbai they picked only three overseas players with Akeal Hosein missing. He could come back into the XI.

Possible XI: Samson, Gaikwad, Urvil, Kartik (sub Choudhary), Brevis, Dube, Overton, Akeal, Kamboj, Noor, Prashant,

Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings IPL pitch report

The Arun Jaitley Stadium surface has been hard to call. Mumbai Indians were restricted to 162 and then Delhi and Punjab gorged on a runfest. Then extreme, extreme unders landed when Delhi were razed for 75 against RCB. Historically, this is the flattest of the flats with big runs often the advised wager.

The run rate in the last three years in night IPL games is 9.9 but both teams to score 200 has won only three times in 15. Playing first-innings runs is probably thee way to go. Overs at 203.5 could look cheap at 5/61.84. That has won eight times in the study.

Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings IPL match prediction

This should be a close, competitive affair with both teams well-matched. It could be decided by which pair of spinners dominate; Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel for DC or Akeal and Noor Ahmad for CSK. Or, rather, which spin hitters dominate. Chennai may reckon they have the edge with Shivam Dube one of the best in the business.

Not surprisingly, the match odds markets agree. On the Exchange, there is little to choose between the two with DC marginal 1.9520/21 favourites.

Instead of picking one team over the other, the strategy is to make use of the importance of the toss. We would expect the side getting first use to bat well enough to be heavy odds-on by the break.

Obviously if that is Chennai there is a greater room for a trade. A back to lay from 2.021/1 to 1.608/13 for example is a starter. Adding 25% to the original back stake would give a profit on both outcomes.

Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings IPL player tips

Dube has had a relatively quiet IPL so far. This might be the game to expect some fireworks. He had a useful knock of 39 on his previous visit with CSK. There have been a coupe of 20-odds this campaign and a unbeaten 45 against Punjab. This suggests he is seeing the ball absolutely fine.

He is 10/111.00 for top CSK bat. Dube has a strong career strike rate of 147 against Delhi.

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