CSK vs Delhi Daredevils: ‘Cool and Restrained’ Dhoni will battle it out with ‘Fiery and Temperamental’ Sehwag

After eliminating Mumbai Indians, hosts Chennai India will target Sehwag and co. in second the qualifier on Friday. Delhi were title favourites until they were stopped in their tracks by Gautam Gambhir’s Kolkata, writes The Times Of India, adding that there isn’t anything significantly wrong with Delhi, but the minor flaws are being exposed at crucial junctures.

“Teams have come to realise that if Virender Sehwag and David Warner can be removed early, the batting firepower can be doused. Mahela Jayawardene, despite his fantastic skills, isn’t the most destructive in this format and Ross Taylor has been a pale shadow of his former self,” writes TOI, adding that Chennai were quick to probe these deficiencies when the two teams met in the group stages. “They had specific plans for Viru and Warner and once the duo got out, Delhi struggled to reach 120. They will look to repeat the ploy on Friday with Ben Hilfenhaus swinging it around in the initial stages.”

Meanwhile when the Chennai Super Kings take on the Delhi Daredevils at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, it will be a contest of several juxtapositions, beyond just the contrasting outcomes of their last games, writes Indian Express.

“Delhi had after all been the first team to secure the top-four and then the top-two spot during the league stage. They topped the table with the most wins and the best net run rate. Chennai would not have dared hope after the loss to Kings XI Punjab in their last league game. But here they are. Delhi, the form-team of the tournament, have already burned their get-out-of-jail-free card in the first qualifier and are a game from elimination. And Chennai, unconvincing and out-of-sorts, living on borrowed time for long stretches, are a game from the final. If you look at it that way,” says the report, adding that Delhi's top order has come good consistently — Virender Sehwag had a run of five successive 50s while David Warner, joining the side midway through the tournament, spanked an unbeaten ton in his second game for the side.

“Chennai, though, have struggled to name the same pair to open the innings for a few matches in a row. Murali Vijay, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey, Subramaniam Badrinath have all had their turns and the current combo of Vijay and Hussey has only recently found its feet. If Delhi's middle-order was its only nagging, and as yet unresolved worry, Chennai always had the personnel to pull off the lower order heist and seem to have gotten their house in order in that department just in time.”

Meanwhile The Tribune writes that the true, and the most prevalent, sign of champions is their ability to seize the moment. They raise their game, and their ability when the moment of reckoning arrives. “Two-time IPL champions and former Champions League winners Chennai Super Kings proved just that as from being almost out of the play-offs, they are now only a win away from playing their second consecutive final at home. But first up is the second Qualifier, in which they face off against the formidable Delhi Daredevils at the Chepauk Stadium here tomorrow.”