Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) MS Dhoni in their Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) encounter at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday (October 4).


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Speaking during the toss, Rishabh Pant said: "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. Ripal Patel is making his debut, Smith goes out. He's a lower middle-order batsman who can bowl a few overs.


Also, when asked about his relationship with his ‘mentor’ MS Dhoni, Pant, who is celebrating his 24th birthday today, said it’s great learning from the CSK skipper, but for now, he’s a ‘rival’.


“Always great learning from him, but right now he's a rival, so focus is on the game," Pant said.


Meanwhile, CSK skipper Dhoni said: "We were looking to bat first, but we were not 100 per cent sure, the wicket seems to be tacky. We have got a few changes - Sam is out, Bravo is back, Chahar replaces 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."



Match 50 of the IPL 2021 features a top-of-the-table clash. Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings both sit comfortably in the top two and, thanks to their considerable margin over RCB in terms of NRR, the winner of this match will pretty much be guaranteed two shots at making it to the final of the tournament.


Playing XI:


Delhi Capitals: S Dhawan, P Shaw, S Iyer, R Pant, R Patel, S Hetmyer, A Patel, R Ashwin, K Rabada, A Khan, and A Nortje.


Chennai Super Kings: F du Plessis, R Gaikwad, M Ali, A Rayudu, R Uthappa, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja, DJ Bravo, S Thakur, D Chahar, and J Hazlewood.