New Delhi

Delhi Capitals will look to arrest their poor run at home when they face an equally struggling Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League clash on Tuesday. Both teams are level on eight points from nine matches, leaving little margin for error with five games remaining.

DC returned to winning ways in Jaipur on Friday after suffering three consecutive defeats, but their home form has been a major concern. Two of those losses came at the Kotla, including a record chase of 265 by Punjab Kings and a one-run heartbreak against Gujarat Titans. They were also outplayed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in another home fixture, exposing inconsistencies in their batting lineup.

On the positive side, opener Pathum Nissanka has begun to find rhythm alongside KL Rahul, while pacer Mitchell Starc has added much-needed sharpness to the bowling attack.

However, concerns remain over the form of Kuldeep Yadav, who was hit for three sixes in his final over in the previous match and has conceded runs at over 10 an over this season while taking just seven wickets in nine games. Death-overs specialist T. Natarajan has also struggled to make an impact.

Despite mixed results, captain Axar Patel has maintained a calm approach, backing his team’s performances and consistency.

Dhoni unavailable, Gaikwad regains touch for CSK

Chennai Super Kings will continue without MS Dhoni, who has not yet recovered full fitness, as confirmed by CEO Kasi Viswanathan. Like DC, CSK are also under pressure, having endured a poor season last year and now fighting to stay alive in the competition.

Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has rediscovered form with back-to-back half-centuries, providing stability to a batting unit that has lacked consistency earlier in the season.

The promotion of Urvil Patel to number three has sparked discussion, but a brief 14-run knock against Mumbai Indians may help boost his confidence. Kartik Sharma also impressed with a maiden IPL fifty in the previous match.

CSK have secured two of their four wins against Mumbai Indians and one against DC earlier in the season, giving them confidence ahead of the return fixture.

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Squads

Delhi Capitals: Abhishek Porel, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, David Miller, Auqib Nabi Dar, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Karun Nair, T Natarajan.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Gopal, Jamie Overton, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Noor Ahmad, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zakary Foulkes, Spencer Johnson, Kartik Sharma, Aman Khan.

Match begins at 7:30 PM IST.