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Delhi Capitals won the toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 11 and Axar Patel had no hesitation in choosing to bowl first.
The dew expected to settle heavily in the second innings at Chepauk made chasing the obvious preference and DC will back their batting lineup to chase down whatever CSK set on what Axar described as a good batting wicket with red soil offering decent bounce.
CSK meanwhile are looking for their first win of IPL 2026 having lost all three of their opening games and sitting bottom of the table with zero points.
CSK vs DC: Return of Dewald Brevis and IPL debut for Auqib Nabi
CSK have made two changes from their previous game. Dewald Brevis returns to the playing XI after missing recent matches and Ruturaj Gaikwad was enthusiastic about having him back. "It's great to have Dewald Brevis back, he's excited and ready. The middle order looks solid as well."
Gurjapneet Singh comes in for Matt Henry with Gaikwad noting the young pacer has been bowling well recently. On MS Dhoni, Gaikwad confirmed the CSK legend is at the hotel watching and supporting the side adding "very soon you'll see him out on the ground."
DC have also made two changes. Auqib Nabi comes in for Vipraj Nigam and makes his IPL debut while Ashutosh Sharma replaces Nitish Rana. The 22-year-old Auqib Nabi, bought for Rs 8.40 crore at the auction, has been one of the most anticipated debutants of IPL 2026 given the hype around his raw pace from the Kashmir Valley.
Axar acknowledged the balance of the side looks strong. "If you look at the balance of our side we have almost all bases covered. Compared to last year the team looks more balanced."
CSK vs DC Playing XIs
CSK XI: Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed.
DC XI: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar.
Also READ: Why RCB's loss to RR might be a good sign for their title hopes
CSK vs DC: The context and what both sides need from tonight
CSK have lost their last six matches at Chepauk and arrive at their home ground having been beaten by RCB, RR and PBKS in their opening three games. Sanju Samson has scored just 6, 7 and 9 in his three innings, the high-profile trade yet to deliver the powerplay aggression CSK built their squad around.
Sarfaraz Khan has been the lone batting bright spot with 99 runs across three games. Anshul Kamboj has five wickets but an economy of 11.43 reflects the broader struggle of the CSK bowling attack. A fourth consecutive defeat would leave them in a very difficult position with the playoff race tightening rapidly.
DC sit fourth on the table with four points from three games. Sameer Rizvi has been outstanding with 160 runs and sits second on the Orange Cap leaderboard just 10 behind Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Lungi Ngidi has five wickets at an economy of 7.28. The one-run loss to GT is the only thing between DC and what would be a perfect start. A win tonight at Chepauk moves them into the top two and puts distance between themselves and the chasing pack.
CSK vs DC Impact Players
Delhi Capitals Impact Subs: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry
