Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Capitals – Indian Premier League, April 10, 2021

The Super Kings and the Capitals open their 2021 IPL accounts on Saturday, April 10, as the two sides face off at the Wankhede Stadium.

Having lost in the final last season, DC will be eager to go one better this year. On the flip side, CSK will be looking to bounce back following a disappointing seventh-place finish in 2020.

After looking at the CSK vs. DC odds, I will share my Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Capitals prediction and betting pick.

10bet may view Delhi as the favorite to win on Saturday, but it is worth noting that this matchup’s odds gap is relatively small.

Although I agree with the bookmakers’ viewpoint, the opening round of IPL fixtures is always hard to predict. For that reason, you’d be foolish to write off CSK.

I assess both sides’ prospects below.

Having won just six of their 14 matches last term, the Super Kings endured a season to forget in 2020. The three-time champions last won the IPL title in 2018, yet they didn’t even come close to adding a fourth triumph to their tally last year.

Faf du Plessis was the team’s top run-scorer last season, although he failed to make it into the top ten on the Orange Cap leaderboard. With the ball, Sam Curran (13) and Deepak Chahar (12) claimed the bulk of the wickets in 2020.

If Stephen Fleming’s men are to improve on last year’s shortcomings, they will need to up their game in every department. Not only did the Super Kings struggle with the bat last season, but they also failed to pick up enough wickets.

The Capitals crushed Chennai by 44 runs in the previous campaign, while CSK lost the reverse fixture by five wickets.

If the Super Kings pick up where they left off last season, a third straight defeat to DC could be just around the corner.

The Capitals came agonizingly close to winning their first-ever Indian Premier League title last year. Going toe-to-toe with MI throughout the 2020 campaign, the Delhi franchise fell at the final hurdle.

Kagiso Rabada clinched the Purple Cap, finishing the season with 30 wickets under his belt. Anrich Nortje also claimed 22 scalps, but DC failed to get over the line.

In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant will captain the side this year. Iyer is likely to miss a large portion of the season due to a dislocated shoulder, leaving 23-year-old Pant with a great deal of responsibility.

We all know what Pant is capable of with the bat, but it remains to be seen whether the exciting young star is ready to captain Delhi through an IPL campaign. Still, Pant will have plenty of support this season.

Let’s not forget that Shikhar Dhawan smashed an unbeaten century against CSK last year. Only four players have more IPL runs to their name than Dhawan – and the veteran will be confident of adding to his tally on Saturday.

Ultimately, the manner with which Delhi dispatched Chennai last season is difficult to ignore. The Capitals claimed two easy wins over the Super Kings in 2020 – and I expect a similar outcome this time around.

The new season brings fresh hope for the Super Kings, but I can’t see them stopping the Capitals on Saturday.