Out come the players. Lots of yellove in the stands as expected. Can the Capitals silence them tonight?

Here are the Impact substitutes for both the teams:

Chennai Super Kings Subs: Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner

Delhi Capitals Subs: Sumit Kumar, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar Salam, Praveen Dubey, Jake Fraser-McGurk

Teams:

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Ruturaj Gaikwad: First game here, not too much information on this pitch. Let's see how it goes.

Delhi Capitals have won the toss and have opted to bat

Rishabh Pant: We'll bat first. Wicket looks good, we want to use it as a batting track, put runs on the board. I think it makes a lot of difference, but we practiced here. We came here and got 10 days at this wicket.

Delhi Capitals have won the toss and have opted to bat

Pitch Report: The climatic conditions look really good for a game of cricket. Nice gentle breeze blowing across the ground and we are playing on pitch number 4, which is bang in the middle. 62m either side of the wicket, and 71m down the ground. There is an even covering of grass on the pitch, the root structure looks good which keeps the soil together, so don’t expect a lot of turn. This pitch seems to be very good for batting. Average first innings score in previous games has been 157, but that was 2019 and before so that is a bit outdated. I think the average first innings score now should be around 175-180. Bowlers need to choose the right options - the early trend has been to be back of a length with pace on and pace off, and don’t forget your cutters. It seems like a bat first wicket, reckons Darren Ganga with thoughts from Rohan Gavaskar.

Vizag has traditional been a slow pitch that aids the spinners, and that would be playing right into CSK's hands. However, let's see what the curators have served up today for this IPL clash. We're not too far away from the toss, so stick around...

Chennai's tried and tested method of trusting experience, and having the whole squad buy into the philosophy continues to pay them dividends. Each member has a well defined role and there seems to be a clear focus of plays aggressive cricket from the get-go. Their bowling also looks stronger with the return of Pathirana, who missed the opener due to an injury.

18:33 Local Time, 13:03 GMT, 18:33 IST: The IPL action shifts to coastal Visakhapatnam today, which will serve as a makeshift home venue for Delhi Capitals for part of this season. It is 1st versus 9th on the points table, but it would be foolish to read too much into the points table at this stage of the tournament.

Preview by Pratyush Sinha

Delhi Capitals have had an interesting relationship with their "home" venue.

Back in 2019, when they did get a full season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Ricky Ponting wasn't shy of making his displeasure known about the slow and sluggish pitches that worked against a side full of stroke-makers. And as if on cue, the pandemic and the covid protocols ensured that they didn't play a single game at the venue for the next three years.

When DC returned to their usual home base last year, they did so without Rishabh Pant and looked lost as a side. Perhaps losing five of the seven matches was defensible. This year, then, made for the perfect opportunity for reconciliation, especially with the return of Pant and the work that went into quickening up Delhi's pitches before the World Cup.

That fence-mending between a side and its troubled history with its home venue is going to happen but only later. Because the Women's Premier League just got over there and the pitches in Delhi need to recuperate. So for now, DC start this home stretch at Visakhapatnam, a place Ponting has embraced already.

"This is our second home for this tournament, we know that. This is a home ground tomorrow, not a neutral ground by any chance," the head coach said. "We have got our first two games here and we are going to make sure that this is the place we can win. Tournaments have been won mainly by teams at home and we are at home tomorrow and we expect to win the game."

Standing in Ponting and DC's way will be Chennai Super Kings, who know a thing or two about winning at home. Incidentally, this will be the first game they play away from home this season and Eric Simons, their bowling consultant, has already stressed the importance of "adapting quickly" on the road.

The fixture is an interesting meeting point for the two teams. DC, with two losses from two away games, are set to play a "home" game against a side on four points and that's playing its first away game. Ponting has already promised "more intent" and a "lot more aggression" than the first two games, and how that augurs against a side as nonchalant as CSK will be something to watch out for.

When: 31 March 2024, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Where: Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

What to expect: Simons said that the pitch had a lot of grass rolled in and felt it would be a "good cricket wicket" which could have some bounce going by what he saw on the side pitches on the square. That said, there's always some swing available in the humid Vizag air and new-ball bowlers should be able to get some help. Across 8 IPL games at this venue, 61 wickets have fallen to pace and 36 to spin.

Head to Head: CSK 19 - 10 DC. Since IPL 2020, both teams have a 4-4 record but CSK have won the last four games between the sides

Team Watch:

Delhi Capitals

Injuries/Availability: Ponting confirmed that Jhye Richardson is fit and available for selection. Ishant Sharma is likely to continue on the sidelines where Shai Hope will take things "nice and easy" on the eve of the game, Ponting said.

Tactics & Matchups: Ponting felt that bringing Lalit Yadav's offspin was an option to counter the left-handers in CSK. Also, watch out for DC spinners bowling to CSK's designated spin-hitter Shivam Dube.

Probable XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Ricky Bhui/Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar [Impact Sub: Lalit Yadav]

Chennai Super Kings

Injuries/Availability: There are no injury concerns here.

Tactics & Matchups: Ruturaj Gaikwad against left-arm pace is developing as an interesting match-up, with the CSK captain out to the bowling type twice in two innings. Khaleel Ahmed will be itching to bowl with the new ball to him.

Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman [Impact Sub: Matheesha Pathirana]

Did you know?

- CSK and DC have faced only once at Vizag before. It was in Qualifier 2 of the 2019 IPL, which CSK won

- The average score batting first in Vizag is 157

- DC have never finished in the top six once they have lost the opening two games of the season

What they said:

"We had a couple of chats about our cricket and the consensus out of those meetings is that we have played some really good and bad cricket. So, we need to find somewhere in the middle where we can play consistently good cricket over 40 overs" - Ricky Ponting on DC's season

"He has made a bit of technical change which has made a big difference. One of the things we have seen is his bouncer becoming more effective... that just adds another weapon to your arsenal. I don't think he's swung it as much as he can; he's working on a few things to get the seam in a better position so his best is yet to com" - Eric Simons on Deepak Chahar

Squads:

Delhi Capitals Squad: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Ricky Bhui, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Abishek Porel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Praveen Dubey, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar Salam, Ishant Sharma, Jhye Richardson, Shai Hope, Prithvi Shaw, Lalit Yadav, Yash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal, Swastik Chikara