Indian T20 League 2019: Match 5, Delhi vs Chennai – Dotball Fantasy Cricket Guide

Both the teams won their respective opening encounters pretty convincingly and by playing to their strengths – Chennai’s spin force came to the fore and Delhi’s stole Mumbai’s thunder thanks to a blitzkrieg of an innings from Rishabh Pant. Now, both teams will have momentum on their mind as they look to remain unbeaten with two wins under their belt. Here we take a look at the Dotball Fantasy Cricket Guide for Match 3.

Venue

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Conditions

Conditions at the Kotla, with its small boundaries and placid pitch, are usually batsmen friendly, although the spinners and slower bowlers will have a say at some point in time.

Injury updates

There aren’t any injuries, but Chennai may look for a replacement pacer for Lungi Ngidi who is out for the tournament with an injury. Chris Morris is likely to be unavailable.

Head To Head

Last five meetings: Delhi 2 Chennai 3

Fantasy Tips

If you are looking for possible captain choices for a head to head contest, you could go with these ‘Safe Captain Choices’

Shane Watson: It’s always good to a take a punt with an opener, and if that opener happens to be Watson with his recent rich vein of form, the strategy almost picks itself.

Shikhar Dhawan: Going with the openers theme, Dhawan is another relatively safe choice despite his ordinary outing against Mumbai. He is, after all, the 3rd highest run scorer (553 runs) against Chennai, behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Rishabh Pant: His whirlwind 78 against Mumbai underscored how explosive a batsman he can be and the Kotla conditions are almost tailor-made for his brand of strokeplay.

However, if you are willing to take a bit more risk in a grand league contest, maybe consider these ‘Risky Captain Choices’

Ambati Rayudu: Rayudu’s record (3000+ runs at 29.3) makes him impossible to ignore.

Shreyas Iyer: He struggled last time around at the Kotla against Chennai but averages 36 against them in 4 games which makes him an interesting bet if you want to risk it.

Colin Ingram: Of course, if you don’t want to take the risk with Iyer, one other Delhi batsman to back would be the ever consistent Colin Ingram.

Expert Advice

It may be a batsman-friendly pitch, but keep an eye out for the bowlers because they usually are the ones that earn the bonus points in heaps. The trio of Harbhajan Singh, Jadeja, and Imran Tahir shared 9 wickets among them against RCB. Add to that the fact that Imran Tahir has 17 wickets in 11 T20’s at Kotla and that Harbhajan Singh has 21 wickets against Delhi – the joint-most (along with Malinga) by any player against them, and picking two of these or maybe all three becomes an irresistible proposition. And watch out for Axar Patel, a possible X-Factor.

The Prediction

Chennai’s experience and their spin forte give them an edge but it probably won’t be enough to overcome Delhi’s batting firepower since the pitch won’t turn as much as it did in Chennai on the opening night of the T20 tournament.

Likely XIs

Chennai

Keeper – MS Dhoni (c)

Batsmen – Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, Suresh Raina

All – Rounders- Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja

Bowlers – Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur

Delhi

Keeper – Rishabh Pant

Batsmen -Shikar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(c), Colin Ingram

All- Rounders-Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia

Bowlers-Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Ishant Sharma, Trent Boult

Recommended Fantasy Team Preferred for Dot Ball Head or Tails/Small Contests:

Wicket Keeper: Rishabh Pant (VC)

Batsman: Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shreyas Iyer

All Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson (C), Axar Patel

Bowlers: Trent Boult, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Ishant Sharma

Recommended Fantasy team for Dotball Rumble/Big Contests:

Wicket Keeper: Rishabh Pant

Batsman: Shreyas Iyer, Colin Ingram, Faf du Plessis

All Rounders: Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson, Rahul Tewatia

Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh (VC), Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada (C)

Risky Team

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Colin Ingram, Faf du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson, Rahul Tewatia, Harbhajan Singh (VC), Shardul Thakur,  Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada(C)

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