Delhi have traditionally never been dangerous in the IPL. As Daredevils, they never showed much daredevilry. But this season has been different. Rechristenend Delhi Capitals, they are only a couple of games away from lifting the coveted title. However, in their way stands a big obstacle named Chennai Super Kings.

By virtue of finishing in the top two, Chennai get a second shot in the final despite having lost to Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier. Chennai were really ragged against the former champions Mumbai, and MS Dhoni made no bones about the fact that their batsmen let them down, especially considering they were playing at home.

In fact, if you take away Dhoni's consistency with the bat, the rest have not been as successful. Shane Watson has again faltered after that one big innings while Suresh Raina has been a far cry from the batsman who was once the most dangerous player in the IPL. Murali Vijay looked good briefly against Mumbai, but could not continue to register a substantial total.

The most interesting aspect of the Delhi vs Chennai battle could turn out to be the contest between Chennai's spinners and Delhi's big-hitters. While the spin trio of Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja may not turn out to be as dangerous in Visakhapatnam as they have been in Chennai, it would be a challenge nonetheless for the big-hitters like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw to shine against the turning ball.

Delhi do go in with an advantage though. They have played in Visakhapatnam and thus would be better accustomed to the conditions. Also, Pant and Shaw starred in the recent game so their confidence too would be high. Skipper Shreyas Iyer did admit though that the last couple of overs against Hyderabad were horrible. It is the kind of collapse they cannot afford against Chennai.

Squads

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Scott Kuggeleijn.

Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(wicketkeeper), Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, J Suchith, Manjot Kalra, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Jalaj Saxena, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa, Colin Munro.