Qualifier 2: Chennai Super Kings take on Delhi Capitals for a place in the IPL 2019 final (Courtesy by BCCI)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Delhi Capitals take on Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 2 for a place final
- DC are the youngest team in IPL 2019 and are looking to qualify for their first final
- CSK are the oldest side in the tournament and are also the defending champions
It's youth vs experience as Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings are set to battle it out in Qualifier 2 for a place in the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 on Friday.
There couldn't have been two teams with more contrasting traits facing each other in a crunch knockout match.
Over the years, Chennai Super Kings have defied odds and proved age is just a number even in T20 cricket, which is generally seen as a format wherein young guns with fearless approach rule the roost.
At the 2018 auction, Chennai Super Kings helped raise quite a few eyebrows as they had picked a squad with an average age of over 30 on their comeback to IPL. The trend has continued in the ongoing season as well with their average age once again being close to 34.
They were called Dad's Army and even some of their fans were sceptical about their chances with a relatively older squad on their comeback to IPL. However, CSK have understood their limitations well and thrived on the experience they have to prove their doubters wrong in the last two seasons.
The defending champions are one win away from making the final for the second successive year. CSK have certainly set a blueprint for T20 franchises across the globe to follow and emulate.
Dhoni's proven mantra to not tamper with the playing XIs and give longer ropes to out-of-form batsmen has worked in IPL 2019 too. Shane Watson benefited from it and the likes of Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis are peaking at the right time after a series of inconsistent batting displays.
Chennai Super Kings are the oldest side in IPL 2019 and also the defending champions (Courtesy by BCCI)
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals have relied on youngsters and, it is safe to say, the tactic has worked for them wonderfully well in IPL 2019.
Under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy and the watchful eyes of head coach Ricky Ponting and advisor Sourav Ganguly, the Delhi Capitals reached their first-ever playoffs of IPL in 7 years.
Over the season, Delhi have played some fearless cricket and ended the league stages on a three-way tie on 18 points with table-toppers Mumbai Indians and CSK. Unfortunately, Delhi missed out on an opportunity to play the Qualifier 1 and seal a direct berth in the final due to their inferior net run rate when considering that of CSK and MI.
Nonetheless, Delhi Capitals fended away a stiff challenge from former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday to give themselves another shot at reaching their first-ever final in IPL cricket.
On Friday, none of them can afford mistakes.
Delhi Capitals need to be wary of not suffering collapses like they have done all through the season at an alarming rate. Despite the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant scoring over 400 runs each, Delhi have suffered some horrible collapses and squandered matches that were well within their grasp.
Delhi Capitals are the youngest team in IPL 2019 and are looking to qualify for their first final (Courtesy by BCCI)
Even on Wednesday, Delhi Capitals were in a spot of bother in the last 2 overs of their 163-run chase. Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant threw his wicket away while going for a glory shot when the team needed just 5 runs from the last 8 balls. Delhi scrapped through to a win after a few nervous moments in the final over.
"I think we have an affinity for making games interesting every time. Things seem to go well and suddenly two-three wickets fall. That is the fun in T20s. As long as the situation is not interesting, you don't have fun." Delhi Capitals' teenage opener Prithvi Shawa said while reflecting on the tense finish in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Against CSK, it's all about fine margins. Delhi Capitals cannot afford to have "fun" by squandering opportunities. A skipper like MS Dhoni, known for his tactical acumen, is not going to let go of even the slimmest chance that comes CSK's way.
On the other hand, CSK will be wary of fatigue as most of their senior campaigners looked below-par in the Qualifier 1 against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, There were a couple of misfields and difficult chances that were let go off. Take Shane Watson's example for instance. The senior batsman was a tad bit slow at the slips and it certainly didn't help the defending champions.
Dhoni has often spoken about scoring those 10-20 runs extra in order to compensate for slow movers in the CSK unit. Considering CSK's batting form (or the lack of it), maybe their fielders may be forced to put in the extra effort to make up for possible shortcomings in their batting performance.
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