Dhoni back, Capitals bowl but Rabada misses out with stiff back

© BCCI

Toss Delhi Capitals opt to bowl v Chennai Super Kings

Shreyas Iyer called correctly and Delhi Capitals elected to bowl at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

At the toss, Iyer said he was mindful of the dew, but MS Dhoni felt it wouldn’t set in as much because of cloudy conditions in Chennai. Dhoni added that he would have batted had he won the toss, so both captains got what they wanted.

With both sides guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, the focus has shifted to a battle for the top two slots. For the record, Capitals will also look to post their first win in Chennai since 2010.

They will have to do so without Kagiso Rabada, who missed out because of a stiff back. This meant an opportunity for Trent Boult, who has warmed the bench for a majority of the season. Ishant Sharma’s ankle niggle meant J Suchith, the Karnataka allrounder, got his first look-in. Suchith was signed mid-season as a replacement for the injured Harshal Patel.

Dhoni returning from fever meant Dhruv Shorey had to make way. Ravindra Jadeja and Faf du Plessis also came back, meaning there was no place for M Vijay and Mitchell Santner.

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Imran Tahir

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Colin Ingram, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 J Suchith, 11 Trent Boult

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Source: ESPN Crickinfo