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Team India coach Ravi Shastri is very excited for the Rishabh Pant-MS Dhoni battle in the IPL 2021 tonight.
Chennai Super Kings will take on Delhi Capitals in the second match of IPL 2021 in Mumbai. While CSK will be led by the legendary Dhoni, DC will be captained by Rishabh Pant, who has replaced Dhoni as the wicketkeeper-batsman in the Indian team.
Ravi Shastri tweeted that an enticing contest could be on the cards, posting:
“Guru vs Chela. Bahot Maza aayega aaj. Stump Mic suniyega zaroor (Master vs Apprentice. It should be very interesting tonight. Do listen to the stump mic) #DhoniReturns #Pant #IPL2021 #DCvsCSK -@ChennaiIPL @DelhiCapitals.”
Rishabh Pant was named the captain of DC after their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to a shoulder injury that he picked up during the ODI series against England last month.
Ravi Shastri made the stump mic reference because both Rishabh Pant and Dhoni are known to give advice to bowlers from behind the stumps. While Dhoni is a master of the art, the DC captain is still learning the tricks of the trade.
However, Rishabh Pant is the more vocal of the two and has been constantly chirpy behind the stumps for India.
CSK have a 15-8 head-to-head advantage over DC. However, DC would be confident of their chances after finishing runner-up last season.
I will just try to give it my 100%: Rishabh Pant
Speaking ahead of the big clash, Rishabh Pant said that he would try to keep things simple, as he is new to captaincy. Speaking on Delhi Capitals’ official website, the left-hander said:
"I haven't thought about that too much that this is my first match, I have to do this, that. I think I will keep it simple. I will just try to give it my 100% whatever I know because during wicketkeeping also you get an idea of how to set the field and all. Yes, this time, once you are given the captaincy, you can do it directly. I think there won't be much difference.”
Previewing the match against CSK, DC head coach Ricky Ponting observed that CSK remain a formidable opponent despite their struggles last year. He said in this regard:
"They have been one of the successful teams in IPL history, and they have obviously got a great leader, a great squad of players. They have always managed to play some really consistent cricket. Last year, they were probably disappointed with the way their season went down, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that Raina wasn't there for the entire tournament. He comes back to the squad this year, which is almost like a new recruit, a new player or a new signing for them.”
CSK finished seventh last season, failing to qualify for the IPL playoffs for the very first time.
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