History counts for little with Chennai Super Kings: Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI: Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is of the view that Delhi Capitals hold an edge against Chennai Super Kings when the two teams clash in Qualifier 1 on Sunday.

In his column for the Times of India, Gambhir wrote, "There are some contests that add inches to a professional stature. Decider of a closely fought series, a world championship game, knock out contest of a grand slam tournament or of an EPL game, they all come with exertions and perks that make this professional career of sportsperson worth it. I hope Delhi Capitals are feeling the same as they head into their playoff game against former champions Chennai Super Kings. They have made the right noises so far to reach this stage of the tournament. With some focus and clarity of an astute game plan they could well be playing second consecutive IPL final."

And the reason Gambhir thinks so is because of DC bowlers Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have been right on the money without being taken to cleaners.

"I have always been big on having a sharp bowling attack. I think Rishabh Pant has one at the moment. With five pure bowlers, he can go real hard at the Chennai top-order as that is where their strength lies. Dubai wicket should work to Delhi's advantage and they must exercise full scale of their bowling resources. If I was in Rishabh's shoes, I would go hard with Kagiso Rabada upfront. With his experience and ability Rabada has all the tools to blunt CSK's innings. I am not sure of what is the latest on Delhi's foreign recruit Marcus Stoinis. If he is fit then just get him in as Ripal Patel's replacement. Even in batting, Delhi seems better served with almost six pure batsmen," Gambhir added.

CSK, over the years, have been in IPL finals eight times and won on three occasions which speak volumes of the team's ability to lift their game just when it's required most.

"On the other hand, CSK are the big daddys of this tournament. Despite losing to DC twice in league stages, history counts for little in this game. MS Dhoni and his men have the experience of playing knockout stages, they know how to play big moments and this is not just an ordinary footnote. There will be many pressure situations in today's game which CSK may handle with experience and DC could rely more on a youthful, fresh approach. I sense some cracks in CSK's middle-order. DC can easily probe them and swing the situation to their own advantage. On leadership scale, Rishabh has shown no signs of getting overawed by his counterpart. A lot of observers have made this to be Rishabh vs Dhoni captaincy contest which I find to be grossly unfair," Gambhir signed off.