Playing in their third playoffs on the trot, Delhi Capitals (DC) made one surprising change in their lineup. Rishabh Pant announced at the coin toss that DC are going with four overseas players this time as Tom Curran replaces uncapped player Ripal Patel in the side. Tom will be playing his first match of the second leg of the season. In the first leg, the bowling all-rounder took only one wicket and leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.78. The Englishman also scored 21 runs from two games.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who have lost their last three league matches did not make any changes. Suresh Raina, who could not play due to an injury is still on the bench. Robin Uthappa, who has not fared well in the two games he played in the second leg, registering scores of 19 and 2 against DC and Punjab Kings (PBKS) has been given another chance to prove his worth.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 10.
“Whatever games we have played so far, the guys felt there was a bit of help for the seamers initially, it's a tough wicket, but it could get better later on. We try to keep it simple, irrespective of any game. We analyse our shortcomings and it has helped us,” Dhoni said at the toss.
DC XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tom Curran, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
CSK XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood