Ruturaj: We were looking to bat as well. Looks a bit dry. It's a bit cloudy, won't change much. You always want momentum in T20 cricket. Overall, the chat has been positive.

Axar Patel: We are going to bat first. Feels like there'll be help for the bowlers. Expect it to get slower as the game progresses.

Delhi Capitals have won the toss and have opted to bat

After all that buzz over the last 24 hours, it is Ruturaj Gaikwad who is walking out for the toss.

Pitch report: "It's hot but there's a small breeze. 64m and 70m side boundaries, 78m down the ground," says Matthew Hayden. Eoin Morgan joins him to say "It is beautiful to look at, typically what you get at Chepauk. There's not a blade of grass and it's rolled into the pitch and underneath it's quite firm. You have to come here and adapt to the conditions. The heat is one thing and the surface is another. It might play a bit two-paced, particularly for batters just coming in to start their innings. Got to get a partnership going, get the twos into those gaps. The power for me is in the partnerships. That's when you can post the bigger scores."

"Hello from Chepauk, there was a brief spell of rain this morning in Chennai but the skies are clear now," pings Narbavi from Chepauk. "Will be interesting to see if Conway gets a game today, he did have a long stint in the nets last evening."

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have gotten off to an excellent start. While Ashutosh Sharma's incredible knock got them home from a precarious situation against LSG, they were clinical in all departments against SRH.

14:30 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST: Vanakkam! The five-time IPL champions are currently placed third from the bottom on the points table.

Preview by Narbavi R

Just three games into the tournament, Chennai Super Kings are already feeling the heat. If that loss to RCB at home rattled them, losing to Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati continued to expose some chinks in their armour. While there has been so much focus on MS Dhoni, CSK's struggles run a lot deeper. Their stronger suit - the bowling attack - allowed RCB to post almost 200 on a sticky surface. Despite finishing strong with the ball against Royals, the opening 12 overs had seen saw them concede 129 runs.

With the bat, the problems are even more glaring. CSK's batting lineup already looks heavily reliant on Ruturaj Gaikwad and there are concerns over the skipper's availability for tomorrow. Rachin Ravindra did contribute in the first two games but the likes of Rahul Tripathi and Shivam Dube haven't fired yet. Completely unlike CSK, changes have already been made involving Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran and Jamie Overton.

Amidst all this, they are now up against a side that is flying high after winning both their games so far. They won a thriller in their opening game despite the top order's collective failure but their middle order collectively stepped up. In the next, the top order made up for it as last season's runners-up SRH were blown away with ease. With an attack consisting of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Vipraj Nigam, a slowish surface might actually play into DC's hands.

When: April 5, 3:30 PM IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: The pitches have been on the slower side so far in Chennai but RCB's new ball bowlers extracted bounce and movement as well. However, with this being an afternoon game, spin is expected to dominate proceedings.

Team news

Chennai Super Kings

Injuries/Unavailability: There is uncertainty surrounding Ruturaj Gaikwad. The home side will take a late call on their skipper's availability. On the eve of the game, Gaikwad received only throwdowns for a brief period and didn't face the bowlers in the nets.

Tactics & Match-ups:

With Rahul Tripathi struggling up top against pace, there is a case for CSK to drop him down to face spin. Tripathi does hold a pretty good record against DC's most potent spin weapon, Kuldeep Yadav, striking at 200.

Probable XII: Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (WK), Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed

Delhi Capitals

Injuries/Unavailability:

T Natarajan is inching closer to making his first appearance in IPL 2025, according to teammate Kuldeep Yadav. However, the wrist spinner noted that he is unlikely to feature tomorrow.

Tactics & Match-ups:

How DC fare against Noor will be interesting to watch. The Afghanistan spinner has dismissed Faf du Plessis thrice in just ten deliveries. The conditions and the opposition might bring skipper Axar Patel more into play tomorrow to thwart CSK's spin trio.

Probable XII: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (WK), Axar Patel (C), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar

Did you know:

- CSK have won each of their last seven matches against Delhi Capitals at Chepauk.

- This is only the fifth time Delhi Capitals have managed to win their first two games of the season

- CSK scoring at 7.44 in the PowerPlay across their first three games is the lowest among all teams in IPL 2025 and well below the overall average this season - 10.18.

What they said:

"He is bowling really well, and I know him personally, and he is someone who tries to learn from everyone. We had a chat last night as well. Obviously, he has a lovely wrong'un and with that kind of a pace, it's very difficult for a batter to pick, and especially when you play in Chennai, it's always very difficult to score against any wristspinner." - Kuldeep Yadav on Noor Ahmad

"I don't think we've actually thought about that too much. Well, I haven't thought about it too much. I'm sure Fleming and Rutu have thought about that. But we've got some young guy coming through. He's behind the stumps. Maybe he can do a good job. I'm not sure. He's got a bit of experience in the role, so maybe he could do it. But I'm not exactly sure, to be honest." - Mike Husseyon who could lead CSK if Ruturaj isn't fit

Squads:

Delhi Capitals Squad: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul(w), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel(c), Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Darshan Nalkande, Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Jamie Overton, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Devon Conway, Shaik Rasheed, Sam Curran, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shreyas Gopal, Anshul Kamboj, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi, Deepak Hooda