Settle in for a top-of-the-table clash. It's Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings today in Dubai.
You'll find ball-by-ball commentary here in English, and here in Hindi. If you're in the USA, you can watch this game on ESPN+ in English, as well as in Hindi.
Capitals reclaim top spot
Hetmyer and Rabada finish it off for Capitals after some late drama. The result might have been different had K Gowtham, the substitute, hung onto a catch at long-on. The ball burst through his hands to the boundary, leaving Capitals needing 18 off 15 balls. Hetmyer clattered Hazlewood over deep square leg for six in the penultimate over before Rabada picked off Bravo for four, with two balls to spare.For Capitals to not finish among the top two from here RCB will have to win their last two by huge margins: if they beat Sunrisers by 50 runs and Capitals by 60 (after scoring 160), they'll sneak ahead of Capitals. That's all we have for you from the live blog.
Thakur's game-changing double-strike
Capitals need 39 off 36 balls, with six wickets in hand, including that of Dhawan. Bravo is yet to bowl and Dhoni turns to Thakur for a breakthrough. The seamer steps up with the wickets of both Ashwin and Dhawan. Ashwin, sent ahead of Hetmyer and Axar, to keep the left-right combination going, is bowled and next ball Thakur wins a caught-behind appeal from Nitin Menon. Dhawan calls for a review and survives, but three balls later, Thakur has Dhawan drilling a catch to extra-cover. The cross-seamers are working for Thakur. Capitals need 38 off 30 balls.
Jadeja shakes things up
The first ball from Jadeja spun back in a touch to strike Pant on the pad, but it was given not out, with ball-tracking suggesting it would have only clipped the top of off. Pant then got into his groove, swiping both Jadeja and Moeen for boundaries. Jadeja, however, struck back, firing one at 107ks from around the wicket, asking Pant to swing against the angle. Pant chanced his arm once again, this time holing out to Moeen. Capitals need 65 from 11 overs, with seven wickets in hand.
Jadeja did struggle against left-hand batters in IPL 2020, leaking 139 runs in 75 balls for two wickets. He has fared better against left-handers this season, giving up 93 off 81 balls while picking up three wickets.
Jadeja strikes again, in his last over, having the right-handed Ripal caught at long-on for 18 off 20 balls.
Chahar's erratic new-ball spell
When Chahar pushed a knuckle ball too full, Shaw delayed his short-arm jab, adjusted, and hit the ball over mid-on for four. Two balls later, Chahar puts it on an in-between length and coaxes Shaw into slicing a catch to mid-off. This is the sixth time in eight innings that Chahar has got rid of Shaw in the IPL. Dhoni acknowledges Chahar's effort by applauding his returning seamer.
Dhawan, however, lays into Chahar, taking him for 6,4,4,6 in the fifth over, which costs CSK 21 runs. It is the second-most expensive over bowled by Chahar in the IPL.
Rayudu's fifty drags CSK to 136
Rayudu finally finds the release, pumping a Rabada full-toss to the right of mid-off for four in the 17th over. In the next over, which costs Capitals 14 runs, Rayudu gets another full-toss, this time from Avesh and clobbers a six over square leg. He reaches his half-century by scything a 152kph full ball from Nortje to the point boundary. Dhoni, however, continued to struggle against high pace and bounce and was put out of his misery when Avesh had him nicking off for 18 off 27 balls. CSK finish with 136 for 5, which according to Axar is a chaseable score on this track.
Sanjay Manjrekar and Carlos Brathwaite discuss the left-arm spinner's consistent contributions for Delhi Capitals
Capitals' spinners thrive
After taking out de Kock and Tiwary in the game against Mumbai, Axar nabs another left-hander, this time having Moeen chipping a catch to deep midwicket. R Ashwin then wins the match-up against Uthappa once again. This is the seventh time the offspinner has dismissed the batter in the IPL. No other bowler has got a batter more times in the league. Don't believe me? Then just Ask Cricinfo.
Dhoni has dawdled to 11 off 18 balls, and Rayudu to 17 off 18 balls. CSK search for a finishing kick at 88 for 4 in 14 overs.
Faf, Gaikwad fall in powerplay
After being smacked on the glove by Avesh, du Plessis lines up a short ball from Axar, but ends up hitting it to the right of deep midwicket, where Iyer, the only outfielder on the leg side, snags the catch. Gaikwad could've been out lbw second ball had he not reviewed the on-field out decision. Faf seemingly coaxed him into reviewing it, with ball-tracking suggesting that it would have slipped down the leg side. Gaikwad, however, can't quite make the most of this opportunity, flapping a 145kph lifter from Nortje to midwicket.
Capitals bowl; Ripal Patel, Uthappa in
No signs of allrounder Marcus Stoinis yet - he misses his fourth match for Capitals after sustaining a calf injury - but say hello to Ripal Patel. Out goes Steven Smith, which means Capitals are playing just three overseas players. Six days after his 26th birthday, Ripal makes his IPL debut. He's an exciting middle-order batter for Gujarat, with a T20 strike rate of 189.10. He was also part of the Gujarat side that finished runners-up in the most recent 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Robin Uthappa, meanwhile, will make his debut for CSK, replacing the injured Suresh Raina. DJ Bravo and Deepak Chahar return to the CSK XI in place of Sam Curran and KM Asif.
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Robin Uthappa, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ripal Patel, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk) 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Avesh Khan
Top-of-the-table clash
MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings vs Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals. Both teams have already qualified for the playoffs, and this is a chance for them to firm up a top-two finish, which will guarantee two shots at a place in the final. Super Kings' net run-rate of 0.829 is easily the best among all teams, and that should assure them a top-two spot if they reach 20 points. Capital's net run-rate, however, isn't quite as good as Super Kings', but at 0.551 it is still far better than that of Royal Challengers Bangalore. That means 20 points should still be enough for them to finish among the top two.