Leveling up their skills at training and bonding in pool volleyball sessions, this Delhi Capitals unit is getting stronger and closer by the day.
The Men in the DC Blue also look more confident game after game, especially after breaking their five-game losing streak against MI. Now, they into their second and the last IPL 2021 game at Chennai, against the Sunrisers.
The previous time the two teams met was the night of the Qualifier 2 in IPL 2020, the night Marcus Stoinis (38 off 27 & 3/26), Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 50) and Kagiso Rabada (4/29) paved way for Delhi Capitals’ first ever entry into an IPL final.
Options Galore for Ponting, Pant and Co.
Over the last week, Anrich Nortje has been up and running in the training camp. However, one of our heroes from IPL 2020, Nortje hasn’t received a game so far with the tracks in Chennai supporting the tweakers. It remains to be seen if he’ll feature in our final game at Chennai, or are Ponting and Pant saving the express pacer for the Ahmedabad leg?
Axar Patel has fully recovered from COVID-19 and has joined the DC camp too. The all-rounder was absolutely vital to the balance of the squad in IPL 2020, winning games with ball and bat for us. His return certainly bolsters the squad. Having said that, the management will not rush him into things unless they are sure of his match fitness for this game.
A Confident Captain and a Pleased Head Coach
In the last four games, captain Rishabh Pant has made fantastic… or should we say ‘Pantastic’ decisions on the pitch and got us three victories in the four games we’ve played.
“He’s done a really good job, no doubt about it. He is his own man; he wants to do it his own way… I truly believe that he understands the game and sees the game really well. I want him to captain on gut feel because that’s the sort of person he is and sort of player that he is. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to take that away from him because I think his naturally aggressive instincts will come across in his captaincy and that’s what I want from him.” – Ricky Ponting
Well, high praise from the Head Coach and one of the best leaders the game of cricket has seen. That’s more than all the assurance we need going into the next game and further in the tournament.
Stat Attack
The man with 101 caps for DC and a Man of the Match award in our most recent fixture against MI, Amit Msihra keeps proving time and again that experience is key and age is just a number. With 164 IPL wickets, Mishi bhai as he is fondly called, is just six wickets behind the all-time leading wicket-taker in the IPL - Lasith Malinga (170). He will look to get closer to the record against SRH in friendly conditions at Chennai.
Another veteran DC spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has returned exceptional economy rates in the last few games, but is still waiting for that one wicket that will take his tally to 250 wickets in T20s.
The Orange Cap holder Shikhar Dhawan sits pretty on the top of the list with 231 runs in just 4 innings at an average of almost 58 and a Strike Rate close to 150. But that’s not the only list Gabbar tops this season so far. He’s also been a safehouse anywhere in the field with 7 catches in the tournament so far, the joint-most by any fielder. It goes without saying, there have been 7 glorious Thigh-5s too!
Twitter Chatter
@DelhiCapitals
— Siddhika (@sidd1803) April 23, 2021
All the Best Boys!!๐๐๐ปโค
Yeh baar phir se Roar Machao!! ๐ฏโก#SRHvsDC #RoarMacha #YehHaiNayiDilli #SRHvDC@DelhiCapitals
We’ll be looking forward to exiting Chennai with a ROAR ๐
Just love to watch @stevesmith49 classic batting. Hope so he can score big in next match ๐
— Vaibhav Patel (@vaibspale) April 23, 2021
That makes you and a million others ๐๐๐ป
You guys are the reason why I watch IPL every year. This team is not just a team but a family! ๐
— Yash Sharma (@YashSha56950137) April 24, 2021
I hope you guys enjoy the tournament and bring home the cup this year.๐
Stay safe, play hard and Roar Machaa! ๐ฅ
All the best @DelhiCapitals ๐#WeRoarTogether#YehHaiNayiDilli https://t.co/Sd7rzsTDnS
Koshish toh puri rahegi! Thanks for all the love and support ๐
Key Battles
Amit Mishra vs Kane Williamson
Amit Msihra performed the demolition job against Mumbai’s batting order, and he’d love to repeat heroics against SRH. Kane Williamson was back to the mix for Hyderabad in their previous encounter, and how the stalwart tackles the Amit Mishra challenge will decide which way the middle-overs battle goes.
Shikhar Dhawan vs David Warner
These two friends spent a lot of time together while Gabbar plied his trade for SRH and have been absolute legends since, for Delhi and Hyderabad respectively. Once again, their teams will look towards them for a solid start to get a strong grip on the game.
Rishabh Pant vs Rashid Khan
Two young and dynamic T20 superstars in their own right - the battle between Rishabh Pant and Rashid Khan will be a very interesting one to watch. How well Pant and the rest of the DC batsmen play Rashid could very realistically decide the outcome of the match. Wouldn’t we all love to see our skipper one-up one of the best T20 bowlers in the world?
One last ROAR at the Chepauk before we fly to Ahmedabad – Can the Capitals Rise to the occasion?
Leveling up their skills at training and bonding in pool volleyball sessions, this Delhi Capitals unit is getting stronger and closer by the day.
The Men in the DC Blue also look more confident game after game, especially after breaking their five-game losing streak against MI. Now, they into their second and the last IPL 2021 game at Chennai, against the Sunrisers.
The previous time the two teams met was the night of the Qualifier 2 in IPL 2020, the night Marcus Stoinis (38 off 27 & 3/26), Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 50) and Kagiso Rabada (4/29) paved way for Delhi Capitals’ first ever entry into an IPL final.
Options Galore for Ponting, Pant and Co.
Over the last week, Anrich Nortje has been up and running in the training camp. However, one of our heroes from IPL 2020, Nortje hasn’t received a game so far with the tracks in Chennai supporting the tweakers. It remains to be seen if he’ll feature in our final game at Chennai, or are Ponting and Pant saving the express pacer for the Ahmedabad leg?
Axar Patel has fully recovered from COVID-19 and has joined the DC camp too. The all-rounder was absolutely vital to the balance of the squad in IPL 2020, winning games with ball and bat for us. His return certainly bolsters the squad. Having said that, the management will not rush him into things unless they are sure of his match fitness for this game.
A Confident Captain and a Pleased Head Coach
In the last four games, captain Rishabh Pant has made fantastic… or should we say ‘Pantastic’ decisions on the pitch and got us three victories in the four games we’ve played.
“He’s done a really good job, no doubt about it. He is his own man; he wants to do it his own way… I truly believe that he understands the game and sees the game really well. I want him to captain on gut feel because that’s the sort of person he is and sort of player that he is. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to take that away from him because I think his naturally aggressive instincts will come across in his captaincy and that’s what I want from him.” – Ricky Ponting
Well, high praise from the Head Coach and one of the best leaders the game of cricket has seen. That’s more than all the assurance we need going into the next game and further in the tournament.
Stat Attack
The man with 101 caps for DC and a Man of the Match award in our most recent fixture against MI, Amit Msihra keeps proving time and again that experience is key and age is just a number. With 164 IPL wickets, Mishi bhai as he is fondly called, is just six wickets behind the all-time leading wicket-taker in the IPL - Lasith Malinga (170). He will look to get closer to the record against SRH in friendly conditions at Chennai.
Another veteran DC spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has returned exceptional economy rates in the last few games, but is still waiting for that one wicket that will take his tally to 250 wickets in T20s.
The Orange Cap holder Shikhar Dhawan sits pretty on the top of the list with 231 runs in just 4 innings at an average of almost 58 and a Strike Rate close to 150. But that’s not the only list Gabbar tops this season so far. He’s also been a safehouse anywhere in the field with 7 catches in the tournament so far, the joint-most by any fielder. It goes without saying, there have been 7 glorious Thigh-5s too!
Twitter Chatter
@DelhiCapitals
— Siddhika (@sidd1803) April 23, 2021
All the Best Boys!!๐๐๐ปโค
Yeh baar phir se Roar Machao!! ๐ฏโก#SRHvsDC #RoarMacha #YehHaiNayiDilli #SRHvDC@DelhiCapitals
We’ll be looking forward to exiting Chennai with a ROAR ๐
Just love to watch @stevesmith49 classic batting. Hope so he can score big in next match ๐
— Vaibhav Patel (@vaibspale) April 23, 2021
That makes you and a million others ๐๐๐ป
You guys are the reason why I watch IPL every year. This team is not just a team but a family! ๐
— Yash Sharma (@YashSha56950137) April 24, 2021
I hope you guys enjoy the tournament and bring home the cup this year.๐
Stay safe, play hard and Roar Machaa! ๐ฅ
All the best @DelhiCapitals ๐#WeRoarTogether#YehHaiNayiDilli https://t.co/Sd7rzsTDnS
Koshish toh puri rahegi! Thanks for all the love and support ๐
Key Battles
Amit Mishra vs Kane Williamson
Amit Msihra performed the demolition job against Mumbai’s batting order, and he’d love to repeat heroics against SRH. Kane Williamson was back to the mix for Hyderabad in their previous encounter, and how the stalwart tackles the Amit Mishra challenge will decide which way the middle-overs battle goes.
Shikhar Dhawan vs David Warner
These two friends spent a lot of time together while Gabbar plied his trade for SRH and have been absolute legends since, for Delhi and Hyderabad respectively. Once again, their teams will look towards them for a solid start to get a strong grip on the game.
Rishabh Pant vs Rashid Khan
Two young and dynamic T20 superstars in their own right - the battle between Rishabh Pant and Rashid Khan will be a very interesting one to watch. How well Pant and the rest of the DC batsmen play Rashid could very realistically decide the outcome of the match. Wouldn’t we all love to see our skipper one-up one of the best T20 bowlers in the world?
One last ROAR at the Chepauk before we fly to Ahmedabad – Can the Capitals Rise to the occasion?
