Daijiworld Media Network

Delhi, Apr 18: Delhi vs Chennai: a team which has lost all five games they have played vs a team which has started inconsistently, as always. Delhi are hurting, which can be seen from their players' comments. Sample this one from David Warner, who tweeted this: 'It's fair to say, I have not had much luck in India. 4-0 loss to India now 0-5 for Delhi. Surely today is the day to break the drought.' It's high time they break the drought, as Warner says. Will they be able to, though?

Chennai have won the toss and elected to bat

Mahela: 'The camp is positive. We've played some good cricket but we haven't analysed the crucial situations well, hopefully we can do that today. We have to finish the matches and get points on board. Still 11 games for us and we have to be positive. Chennai is a quality team, it's a great challenge for us and we have to play with freedom. 160-165 will be a par score. A bit of dew around, the last game our bowlers struggled with the dew. Rohrer and Nehra miss out, Agarkar and Jeevan Mendis come in.'
 
Dhoni: 'Last game was not really good for us. We didn't play intelligent cricket. But it's important to forget that game. We still have to learn from that game though. After the 4th season where they relaid the wicket at Chepauk, we haven't been consistent at home. It's important to back your strength, we have prepared well. It's important to play the kind of cricket that we know. If we make too many changes, we will be at the receiving end. Looks like a good wicket, we have to put runs on the board. Nannes is injured, Hussey returns. Anirudha makes way for Mohit Sharma.'

Teams:

Delhi (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Mahela Jayawardene(c), Manprit Juneja, Kedar Jadhav(w), Irfan Pathan, Jeevan Mendis, Morne Morkel, Ajit Agarkar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav

Chennai (Playing XI): Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni(w/c), Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Mahipal Sharma

A few more stats, from our man Gokul Gopal: 

Most matches for Chennai: Raina - 99, Dhoni - 96, Badrinath - 95. Most matches in the Indian T20 League: Raina - 85, Kohli - 83, Rohit - 83, Dhoni - 82

Raina is set to become the only player to play 100 consecutive games for a team in T20s.
Stat: This will be Chennai franchise's 100th match (all leagues included) 

Preview

It's just not getting any easier for Delhi. They have lost all of their five games so far and on Thursday they will be up against Chennai at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The two-time champions would be hurting from their loss against Pune and would want to make amends against a demoralised Delhi on their home-turf. However, as the past few days have shown, T20 can be a funny game and reputations and the names on paper matter little. It will be a new day and with it will come new hope for Delhi.

Delhi

Team News: Delhi have had a nightmare so far this season. Nothing they do seems to work on the field. Five losses out of five games is not a fair reflection of the talent that the team possesses. They managed to run Hyderabad close at the Kotla and even took Bangalore to the Super Over Tuesday evening but the first points still seem like a distant dream. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene has not given up hope of a last-four finish and now wants to focus on the home games at the Kotla in a bid to advance in the tournament. It won't be easy but Delhi have the wherewithal to beat the best on their day. David Warner and Virender Sehwag are just not scoring enough at the top and that has exposed a brittle middle-order. Sans Mahela Jayawardene, the others do not bring a lot of experience to the table, so it's important for the top three to get going.

In-form player: Shahbaz Nadeem's terrific spells have almost gone unnoticed as Delhi continue to plunge deep into the mire with the every game they play. The left arm spinner has picked up six wickets and given away only 5.94 runs per over. He is a dream catch by all means but Nadeem has not had enough to bowl at. The batsmen have flopped and Nadeem has bowled with his back to the wall. He accounted for Andrew McDonald on Tuesday and gave away only 26 off his four overs as Delhi forced Bangalore to the Super Over. Nadeem needs more support from the other end and more runs from the batsmen.

Team form: Have lost all their five games. Went down to Bangalore in the Super Over in their last game.

Hit: While the big stars in the top-order continued to let the team down, one man down the order has toiled away manfully. Wicketkeeper, Kedar Jadhav may not have got too many opportunities but his last two innings for Delhi have given enough clue on his abilities with the bat. Jadhav struck a 20-ball 30 against Hyderabad and then followed it up with a 16-ball 29 as Delhi got enough runs on the board that allowed their bowlers to at least run their opponents close.

Miss: Mahela Jayawardene made a statement in the opening game with a fine 66 against Kolkata but has faded away since with scores of 19, 3, 12 and 28. With the openers not firing the skipper's poor form has jolted Delhi hard. The former Sri Lankan captain is key to the side's prospects and even if he wants to focus only on the home games, the captain himself will have to step up and lead from the front.

Chennai

Team News: MS Dhoni admitted that the loss against Pune was shocking but was quick to add that he would rather that his side had such a setback in the first leg than the later stages. Rest assured, he would ask his men to come out all guns blazing against Delhi and that cannot be good news for the hosts, who are yet to win a game this season. Chennai opted to go without Mike Hussey against Pune but that still did not solve their opening woes. S Badrinath has urged the openers to set the team on to good starts and it remains to be seen how they respond to the challenges ahead. It will not be easy against a good Delhi pace attack but you can only count Chennai out at your own peril.

In-form player: You can never keep Dwayne Bravo out of the action. True, the Trinidadian all-rounder has had a horrid time with the bat but has taken eight wickets so far for Chennai. He has by far been the best bowler for his side and if he chips in with the bat, Chennai would be a potent force.

Team form: Have won two and lost two. Lost their last game to Pune by 24 runs.

Hit: Ravindra Jadeja's wild celebrations after that freak victory over Bangalore will live on for many years but in the present his batting is beginning to pick up, which is good news for Chennai. The men in yellow have not set the tournament on fire yet but if Jadeja builds on his scores of 38 not out against Bangalore and 27 against Pune, the Indian T20 League could be in for a treat. He has done reasonably well with the ball and is a brilliant fielder. What a buy he has been for Chennai!

Miss: Suresh Raina has played only three innings so far so it would not be fair to be too critical but the fact is this: Raina is Chennai's best batsman and he needs to fire almost every time he walks into the middle. The southpaw did not have to bat against Punjab, when Hussey and Murali Vijay took them to a 10-wicket victory. But he flopped against Mumbai and Pune and Chennai ended up losing both games. For Chennai to go forward, Raina has to fire.

Quote: We will give ourselves a chance to get into the 'Final Four' if we can win the home games. That is something we really have to focus on: Mahela Jayawardene, Delhi skipper

CB Pick: Delhi are eager for their first victory while Chennai would want to bury their horror show against Pune. It will be a high-intensity clash but Chennai, with their better all-round strength would be the favourites.