Suresh Raina not playing: Chennai Super Kings have made a total of three changes to their Playing XI for this match in Dubai.
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During the 50th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings in Dubai, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has won the toss and chose to field.
“We will bowl first. The wicket might do a bit early, so better bowling first. We just need to focus on the basics, continue doing what we have been doing, want to finish in the top two,” Pant told Star Sports at the toss.
Delhi have once again returned to their ploy of playing three overseas players as batter Steven Smith has been dropped for Ripal Patel. In what will be his maiden IPL match, 26-year old Patel has played 20 white-ball matches for Gujarat in domestic cricket.
Why is Suresh Raina not playing vs Delhi Capitals?
Unlike Pant, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni wanted to bat first but wasn’t entirely sure about the same. In addition to a couple of regular swaps, Super Kings have handed a debut to Robin Uthappa as vice-captain Suresh Raina is out with an injury.
“We were looking to bat first, but we were not 100% sure. The wicket seems to be tacky. We have got a few changes – Sam [Curran] is out, [Dwayne] Bravo is back, [Deepak] Chahar replaces [KM] Asif and Robin Uthappa replaces Suresh Raina, who has a back issue.
“We are trying to rest players who have some niggles, top-two is important, if you have a bad day in the qualifiers, you have another chance to make a comeback,” Dhoni told Star Sports at the toss.
ROB is IN.! ➡️🦁#WhistlePodu #Yellove #DCvCSK 💛🦁
— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) October 4, 2021
Veteran batter Robin Uthappa, who has played for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors India, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the past, will play for his sixth team in the form of CSK.
In 182 IPL innings in his 14-year old career, Uthappa has amassed 4,607 runs at an average and strike rate of 27.92 and 129.99 respectively to be the ninth-highest run-scorer in the tournament. In 24 innings against Capitals, Uthappa’s 658 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 29.91 and 124.39 respectively with the help of four half-centuries.
Suresh Raina IPL 2021 runs
Not been in the best of forms this season, Raina has only scored 160 runs in 11 innings at an average and strike rate of 17.77 and 125 respectively.
