Two-time champion Chennai Super Kings will open their campaign for the eighth edition of Indian Premier League against Delhi Daredevils at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai today.
It will be the 15th encounter between the two teams in IPL. Chennai Super Kings have won 10 and Delhi Daredevils four in 14 previous meeting. In the last edition, Chennai Super Kings have won both matches against Delhi Daredevils. They beat Delhi Daredevils by 93 runs in the first meeting at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on April 21 and achieved a eight-wicket win in the second match at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on May 5.
Chennai Super Kings have made it to the knock-out stages (“final four”) of the Indian Premier League in each of the seven previous editions, twice as many as any other team. Prior to the 2014 edition, Chennai Super Kings had made four consecutive finals, winning two of those. They have played five finals in total, with no other team managing more than two such appearances. Chennai Super Kings have won 84 matches in all, more than any other team in all Twenty-20 cricket, whether international or domestic. There is little doubt they have been the most successful Twenty-20 team in the format’s short history and probably come into the 2015 IPL as favourites despite an average 2014 campaign, even if only by their own standards, where the team lost a high-scoring Qualifier (effectively a semi-final) to Kings XI Punjab.
HEAD TO HEAD:
Matches played: 14
Chenni Super Kings won: 10
Delhi Daredevils won: 4
STARS TO WATCH:
RECORD IN TWENTY-20:
CHENNI SUPER KINGS:
Player M Runs S/R H.S Wkts E/R Best
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) 191 4035 136.59 73* – 12.50 –
Brendon McCullum (NZ) 197 5570 133.82 158* – – –
Suresh Raina (India) 186 5139 141.96 109* 40 7.18 4-26
Ravindra Jadeja (India) 134 1545 125.91 48 83 7.77 5-16
Ravichandran Ashwin (India) 148 324 106.93 46 153 6.81 4-11
DELHI DAREDEVILS:
Player M Runs S/R H.S Wkts E/R Best
Jean-Paul Duminy (S.Africa) 175 4284 121.01 99* 54 7.48 4-20
Quinton de Kock (S.Africa) 82 2207 132.47 126* – – –
Yuvraj Singh (India) 144 3341 134.39 83 71 7.20 4-29
Imran Tahir (South Africa) 101 108 130.12 17* 112 6.57 4-21
Mohammed Shami (India) 40 16 57.14 5 47 7.31 4-24
