Delhi’s stand-in skipper Axar Patel didn’t spend long over the call. “We’ll bowl first,” he told the match referee after winning the toss – and nobody at a humid Chepauk seemed surprised. A brand-new red-soil strip, a hint of afternoon cloud and the Capitals’ deep chasing record all pointed in the same direction.
The decision cleared the way for a single switch in Delhi’s XI. Out went leg-spinning all-rounder Vipraj Nigam, in came pace-bowling all-rounder Auqib Nabi for his IPL bow. The 29-year-old from Baramulla topped the Ranji Trophy wicket charts this winter (60 scalps) and has already been tagged “our Dale Steyn” in the J&K dressing-room – high praise, but he has the late-outswinger to back it up.
“A debut’s a debut, whether you’re 19 or 29,” Nabi said on the team bus earlier in the day. “I’ve waited a long time; now I just want to hit the pitch hard.”
Chennai Super Kings, asked to bat, made two adjustments of their own. Dewald Brevis returns after a fortnight out with a side strain, while left-arm quick Gurjapneet Singh, 27, receives his first IPL cap. Matt Henry and local spinner-bat Prashant Veer make way.
Gaikwad’s side still looks heavy on batting, light on spin – not unusual for a ground that can hold up in the back half. Bowling coach Eric Simmons shrugged when asked if three frontline quicks plus Noor Ahmad was one short. “Conditions dictate,” he said. “And we can always pull the Impact lever later.”
That lever is significant. CSK have Henry and Akeal Hosein sitting on the bench, either of whom might replace a batter once a par total is in sight. Delhi have the equally tempting options of Ashutosh Sharma’s late-order hitting or Nitish Rana’s experience should the chase wobble.
Chepauk’s new red-soil square produced 185 and 192 in the previous two matches; both scores were hunted down. Axar admits the numbers played on his mind. “There’s carry early on, but the ball softens and dew helps the second side,” he said. “We like that scenario.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad, meanwhile, stayed true to CSK’s template: “Score first, squeeze later.” It sounds simple; on this surface it rarely is.
Playing XIs
CSK (bat first): Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurjapneet Singh. Impact bench: Matt Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry.
DC (bowl first): KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar. Impact bench: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana.
First ball is at 7.30 pm local. The forecast says sticky heat, the sort that draws moisture up through the surface rather than down from the sky. Bat, bowl or watch – it should still be a good evening out in Chennai.
