CSK vs DC IPL Highlights: Pant trumps Dhoni in 1st match as captain, DC win by 7 wickets

Rishabh Pant hits Thakur for a boundary to win his first match as captain. DC register a comfortable 7-wicket victory. 

Stoinis joins his skipper as DC need just 16 runs in 17 balls

Shikhar Dhawan departs after scoring 85 as Shardul Thakur traps him plumb. DC need 22 in 21 balls. 

Pant & Dhawan leading Delhi's chase after Shaw's departure. DC need 31 off 25

Shaw's wicket does not slow DC down as Dhawan continues to attack. Delhi need 46 runs in 35 balls

Dwayne Bravo ends Prithvi Shaw's innings with a wide yorker. DC lose their first wicket after 13 overs

Six, four and a single - Prithvi Shaw setting Wankhede ablaze with his fiery knock. DC need 53 off 42 balls

In search of a wicket, MS Dhoni brings Dwayne Bravo into the attack. DC are 114-0

Shikhar Dhawan brings up his 50 moments after Prithvi Shaw's half-century. DC are 102-0

Ruturaj Gaikwad drops a tough catch, gives Shaw a lifeline. DC are 95/0

Prithvi Shaw smokes Moeen for a boundary to bring up his 50. 

Prithvi Shaw smashes Jadeja for a six, Dhawan follows it with another six. Delhi cruising towards CSK's 188

Shikhar Dhawan clears the fence with utter ease & grace, smashes Curran for a long six. Watch the shot here

Shaw skies the ball but Santner misses out on a blinder. DC are 73/0

DC young gun takes the attack to CSK, Delhi end powerplay with 65/0

Dhawan whacks Sam Curran for a six, DC at 36/0 after 3.4 overs

Prithvi Shaw continues his form from domestic cricket, Delhi race to 14 in first 10 balls

"It's always a good feeling to be back playing with CSK. We had a good partnership, the intent was to be positive and I'm glad to have got runs. This has been a happy hunting ground, I have been working hard, RJ and Sam Curran finished well, I think we have finished with a good total. You'll need 15-16 balls to get going, take the singles and then settle. Moeen batted very well, they've a good bowling attack, he batted positively and took the pressure off me. We have some good swing bowlers, Shardul  and Deepak, if we bowl well, we have a good chance of defending 188," said Suresh Raina after the CSK innings. 

In the first match of CSK in IPL 2021, skipper MS Dhoni was dismissed by Avesh Khan on a duck. Other bowlers who have dismissed him on a duck:

Shane Watson in 2010
Dirk Nannes in 2010
Harbhajan Singh in 2015
Avesh Khan in 2021

DC's right-arm pacer Avesh Khan who was picked ahead of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma bowled an outstanding spell with 11 dot balls. 

CSK skipper MS Dhoni was dismissed on the second ball he faced as he chopped a hard-length ball of Avesh Khan onto his stumps. CSK 142/6 (15.5)

Playing his first match for the Delhi Capitals, Tom Curran outfoxed dangerous-looking Rayudu and dismissed him on 23. CSK: 134-4 (14.4 Ov)

'Mr. IPL' Suresh Raina is making his mark in the first match for the CSK as he has reached 43 runs off 29 balls. He smacked Amit  Mishra for two back-to-back huge sixes in the 12th over. CSK : 98/3 (12)

After Moeen Ali's blitz, Rayadu takes on Ashwin, smashes a huge maximum. CSK are 78/3

After being hit for two sixes, Ashwin dismisses Moeen Ali who tries a reverse sweep. CSK lose their third wicket at 60

Moeen Ali takes the attack to DC, smashes Ashwin for two consecutive sixes. CSK are 60/2

Veteran spinner Amit Mishra bowls a tight over, gives away only 5 runs. CSK are 48/2

Avesh Khan and Chris Woakes get DC two quick wickets. Moeen Ali & Suresh Rain re-build for CSK. Chennai are 42/2 after 6.2 overs

Suresh Raina smashes Ashwin for two boundaries, CSK are 29/2

Two crisp boundaries by Moeen Ali takes CSK to 20/2 after 4 overs

English all-rounder Moeen Ali's beautiful cover drive gets him his first 4 in CSK

Suresh Raina gets his first IPL runs nearly after 2 years. gets off the mark with a 4. CSK are 11/2 after 3 overs.

CSK: 7-2 (2.1 Ov)

CSK: 5-0 (1 Ov)

Rishabh Pant on winning the toss said, "We will bowl first. The wicket looks a bit soft. I will be a mix of youth and experience, have done a bit of captaincy in 2017, but my first IPL game." 

CSK skipper MS Dhoni said, "We were also looking to bowl, it's slightly difficult to defend on this ground. Dew could be a factor, but it's cloudy today, so it might not be a factor. The combination looks good, some of the overseas players turned up late, some are in quarantine, but we are ready to go."

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tom Curran, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar

DC skipper invited CSK to bat first. MS reveals CSK's four overseas players-- Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali. Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo

Playing his first match as a captain Rishabh Pant won the toss for Delhi Capitals and elected to field first. Four overseas players for DC-- Hetmayer, Stoinis, Woakes and Tom Curran

Tom Curran and Chris Woakes to make debut for Delhi Capitals. Amit Mishra set to play his 100th T20

"176 is the average score batting first at this ground. The square boundaries are short on both sides. Really nice grass covering, for the bowlers, it's all about bowling in the right areas. The batsmen would love this surface," reckons, Michael Slater, in his pitch report.

In the pre-match analysis on ESPNcricinfo, Gautam Gambhir expressed that CSK will not be able to qualify for the playoffs and they will end the season on the fifth spot. Gambhir on the first four choices among overseas players picked Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, and Dwyane Bravo. The former cricketer also picked English all-rounder Sam Curran as the breakthrough player for CSK in IPL 2021. Read more here

Team India Head Coach Ravi Shastri has added to the hype around the faceoff between Rishabh Pant and his mentor MS Dhoni on Saturday when Chennai Super Kings take on Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium. The DC vs CSK match will witness a young Rishabh Pant take on the captaincy of the franchise for the first time in his career. While Pant himself has expressed excitement to face the former India captain and the player that he has replaced in the Indian team, head coach Ravi Shastri has also expressed eagerness to witness the 'Guru vs Chela' compete on Saturday evening. 

Read more here

Delhi Capitals' newly-appointed captain Rishabh Pant, and, head coach Ricky Ponting shared their thoughts ahead of the season-opener against three-time winners Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Pant has been appointed as Delhi's stand-in-captain for this season as regular skipper Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, the youngster has exuded confidence in himself by saying that he is looking forward to leading the side.

Read what Pant said here 

Ahead of the Delhi Capitals' clash against CSK at the Wankhede stadium, the franchise's former captain Shreyas Iyer has sent an emotional message for the squad, wishing it the best for the entire season. Iyer, who sustained a shoulder injury during the India-England ODI series, has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2021. The ace batsman also underwent surgery after having subluxated his shoulder. 

Watch Shreyas Iyer's message here:

Chennai Super Kings - Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur

Delhi Capitals - Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (C&WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Wicketkeeper: Rishabh Pant

Batsmen: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis

All-rounders: Marcus Stoinis, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran

Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur

As one of the most batting friendly venues in India, the Wankhede Stadium has a high average first innings score of 166, with the 200 mark being breached multiple times. Expect the pacers to get some assistance from the pitch early on, with some good swing movement and bounce on offer. Spinners may not have the best of outings though, with teams preferring to concentrate on pace. Accuweather predicts no rain for this match. With humidity going up to 71% and temperatures remaining at 29°C, dew will be a factor late in the game.
 

Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth, Jason Behrendorff

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c)(wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings

After a power-packed first match in the IPL 2021, the focus now shifts to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where young Rishabh Pant is raring to take on his mentor MS Dhoni in his first game as a captain. Having defeated the Chennai Super Kings twice in the previous season, Delhi will be eyeing a three-peat when they face Dhoni & Co. later today. Delhi will be missing their mainstay skipper Shreyas Iyer who has been ruled out of the entire season due to a shoulder injury. 

Both teams had a relatively quiet auction as compared to other squads having retained most of their core.  Chennai added Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Krishnappa Gowtham and Cheteshwar Pujara to their squad whereas Delhi bought Steve Smith, Sam Billings, Umesh Yadav and Tom Curran amongst others.

Heading into the game, all eyes will be on DC's new skipper Rishabh Pant, who has had a tremendous run in the last couple of months. Also in focus, will be Shardul Thakur who is starting to earn a reputation for his ability to take his team out of the toughest situations. Following an excellent domestic season, Prithvi Shaw should also make his way back into the DC squad while Ruturaj Gaikwad will hope to emulate his performance from last season.

As Chennai and Delhi gear up to meet for their opening games on Saturday, here's how they stack up against each other. Considering how Delhi and Chennai have fared historically at the IPL, it is no surprise that the CSK vs DC h2h currently stands at 15-8 in favour of Chennai. However, with DC's renaissance in 2019 and their two straight wins over MSD's side in the last season, it would be wise to not put much stock in the numbers when it comes to this fixture. 

The first game between the two teams came at the 2008 IPL when the Delhi Capitals were still the Delhi Daredevils. Each team won a game apiece. There have been five seasons in the tournament where one team has won all encounters against the other — CSK in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2019 (including a playoff match) and DC in 2020 (one by 44 runs and the other by 5 wickets). This will be the first meeting between the teams at the Wankhede in Mumbai.