IPL 2020 Live Updates: Axar Patel's cameo helps Delhi beat Chennai by 5 wickets

Their campaign is back on track, courtesy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's smart captaincy but a stiff test awaits Chennai when they face a dominant Delhi in their next IPL match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah on Saturday. Every tactic that Dhoni employed against Hyderabad, worked, and they are expected to continue in the same vein as they battle to salvage the season.

What to expect?

Whether it was promoting Sam Curran to the opener's slot or finishing pacer Deepak Chahar's quota upfront while using seven bowlers to dry up runs, every move produced the desired result. Dhoni used leg spinner Piyush Chawla for only one over and that too as late as in the 16th over, leaving it largely on Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma but the former champions are likely to continue with three spinners considering that the Sharjah wickets are now getting slower.  

That spinners hold the key in Sharjah was evident in the last two games where Bangalore and  Punjab slow bowlers were instrumental in their respective team's wins. The three-time champions will look to build on the win over the 2016 winners as the league phase moves towards the business end. However, they are up against a team that is high on confidence and well-served by the South African pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who bowled a 156.2 kmph delivery during his spell against Rajasthan Royals. 

Add the wily R Ashwin and Axar Patel to the mix and Delhi has a rather impressive bowling unit. Pacer Tushar Deshpande, who made a memorable debut in the win over Rajasthan on Wednesday, adds teeth to the attack and the focus will be on how he follows up that performance.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side would be a tad worried about fitness status of the skipper himself, who hurt his left shoulder in the previous game. The skipper has been in good form with the bat and has led well too. If he is ruled out of the contest, Delhi will be deprived of his classy batting and calm leadership which would be a blow for a side already missing the services of Rishab Pant, sidelined by hamstring issues.

The team will also be expecting the talented Prithvi Shaw to show consistency while the senior pro-Shikhar Dhawan has weighed in with crucial runs at the top as has Marcus Stoinis.

Squads: 

Chennai: MS Dhoni (C), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Josh Hazlewood, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, N Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Monu Kumar, R Sai Kishore, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Karn Sharma.

Delhi: Shreyas Iyer (C), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shimron Hetmyer, Kagiso Rabada, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Daniel Sams, Mohit Sharma, Anrich Nortje, Alex Carey (wk), Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harshal Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav.

Match starts at 7.30pm IST. 

(With PTI Inputs)