CSK skipper MS Dhoni (right) shares a fist bump with DC counterpart Shreyas Iyer in Sharjah on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has opted to bat first against Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals in Sharjah on Saturday. The skipper has decided to bring in under-fire Kedar Jadhav back in the line-up and has dropped spinner Piyush Chawla to make room for an extra batsman.
After winning the toss CSK skipper explained that lack of grass on the pitch was the reason behind his decision to bat first.
"There's nothing on the surface, there's no grass. This looks like a fresh wicket. The question is how much it will slow down as the game progresses," Dhoni said.
Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, took the decision of not disturbing his playing XI after the win over RR earlier this week and updated that he is doing fine after an injury in the last game.
"It's far better (injury) now, thankfully it was just bruised. I wanted to play this game. We will be giving him (Pant) one more game rest so that he comes back really strong in the next one. We are playing with the same team. I wouldn't like to point out on the negatives," he said.
Shreyas further added: "The boys are really motivated and confident with their mindset. This is going to be a new challenge for us. Last time when we chased, we lost, so this is going to be a good challenge for us."
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tushar Deshpande, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma.
