Riding on the momentum of back-to-back wins, our next challenge is our first away fixture of the TATA IPL 2025 against Chennai Super Kings at their homeground, MA Chidambaram Stadium, in another afternoon clash on Saturday, April 5.
Axar Patel’s reign as captain could not have gotten off to a better start. A commanding win in the opening clash against the Lucknow Super Giants, powered by young guns Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam. In the second fixture, Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell led the charge as we overcame the Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure back-to-back victories.
The campaign’s initial phase has brought encouraging signs. Our vice-captain Faf du Plessis got runs in both matches, highlighted by a half-century against Hyderabad and the middle order showed resilience through Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel’s valuable time at the crease.
KL Rahul’s debut in the Red and Blue offered an exciting preview of what lies ahead. Coming in at No.4, his fluent strokeplay from the very first ball reflected both his class and intent.
On the bowling front, star spinner Kuldeep Yadav is off to a sensational start this season. He picked up five wickets in two matches, while conceding at less than six-an-over in both high-scoring matches.
Meanwhile, Starc is right up there among the Purple Cap contenders with eight wickets, snaring crucial wickets in both outings. Both Mohit Sharma and skipper Axar Patel have also made valuable contributions, further underlining the depth and effectiveness of our bowling unit.
While our opponents boast a formidable record in this rivalry, with 19 wins from 30 TATA IPL encounters, the Delhi Capitals arrive as a rejuvenated and re-energised unit, ready to script a new chapter.
This season, Chennai Super Kings have played three matches so far, winning only their opening one. Since 2010, we haven’t picked up a victory in Chennai, but with momentum on our side and a team brimming with confidence, we look forward to challenging the odds and making our mark.
Delhi Capitals' full squad for TATA IPL 2025:
- Axar Patel (Captain)
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Tristan Stubbs
- Abishek Porel
- Mitchell Starc
- KL Rahul
- Jake Fraser-McGurk
- T Natarajan
- Karun Nair
- Sameer Rizvi
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Mohit Sharma
- Faf du Plessis
- Mukesh Kumar
- Darshan Nalkande
- Vipraj Nigam
- Dushmantha Chameera
- Donovan Ferreira
- Ajay Mandal
- Manvanth Kumar
- Tripurana Vijay
- Madhav Tiwari
