Edition 12th of Indian Premier League (IPL) was started on March 23. The fervour of IPL has gripped the entire nation. In just three days and four matches, the IPL has touched to new heights. The fifth match will be played today between Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) and Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Notably, both the teams got their IPL 2019 campaign going with confident wins. Delhi got the better of Mumbai Indians while Chennai defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener. However, when it comes to head-to-head record between CSK is better than Delhi Capitals. Of the eighteen games, these two teams have played against each other Chennai have emerged victorious on twelve occasions, with Delhi picking up wins in the other six games.
Let’s take a look at the top five encounters between the two sides:
IPL 2008: Chennai v Delhi (Delhi won by 8 wickets)
The first-ever encounter between CSK and Delhi in the year 2008 was a high-scoring match. Gautam Gambhir and Virendra Sehwag were on peak and took the game away from a Chennai. On the other hand, CSK’s openers didn’t fire but a half-century from S Vidyut and useful lower order knocks from MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel saw them end the first innings at 169/6.
However, Virender Sehwag scored 71 runs while Gautam Gambhir scored 50 runs putting together a 113-run opening partnership. Sehwag was at his destructive best, slamming 7 fours and 4 sixes during his stay at the crease as the Delhi team registered a comfortable win.
IPL 2012: Chennai v Delhi (Chennai won by 86 runs)
The stakes were much higher for both the teams as this game was the second qualifier in the knockout stages of the tournament. Chennai registered 86-run victory and qualified for the knock-out round.
Batting first, CSK posted a mammoth total of 222 runs after losing 5 wickets. Murali Vijay scored the century before getting run out by the hands David Warner. Dhoni, Raina and Dwayne Bravo all chipped in to ensure the innings of CSK ended on a high note.
In reply, Delhi lost both of its openers early as Warner and Sehwag were dismissed immediately as the inning started. However, Mahela Jayawardene made a fighting half-century but wasn’t supported well from opposite ends. With this loss, Delhi’s chances of making to final went in vain.
IPL 2013: Chennai v Delhi (Chennai won by 86 runs)
Repeating the same as of 2012, Chennai won the match by 86 runs in the fifth edition. The match between the two sides at the Kotla is memorable for CSK fans but is one that the Delhi faithful would like to forget about.
Michael Hussey’s half-century, Suresh Raina’s useful contribution of 30 runs and MS Dhoni’s quick-fire 44 led CSK to post 169 runs on board. Unfortunately, while chasing the target,
Given Delhi’s batting firepower at the time though, the score was not improbable to chase. Delhi suffered a batting collapse that saw them all out for just 83 – their lowest ever total against CSK. Only three batsmen including Virender Sehwag, Kedhar Jadhav and Jeevan Mendis were able to go past double-digit scores. For CSK, Mohit Sharma and R Ashwin picked up 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
IPL 2018: Delhi v Chennai (Delhi won by 34 runs)
The last time Delhi and Chennai teams clashed, Daredevils got a consolation victory that would have served to cheer their fans up ever so slightly after a run of poor form saw them rooted to the bottom of the table and without a chance of making the play-offs.
Vital contributions from Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel saw Delhi post 162/5 in the first innings, a total that Chennai’s batting order could have realistically chased given that a number of their batsmen were in good form.
Ambati Rayudu scored a half-century but found support hard to come by as CSK’s other batsmen made starts but could not convert them, meaning they finished their quota of overs at 128/6.
Let’s see who will emerge a winner in Today’s high-voltage match.