CSK lost their fourth match of the season (Thier second without Dhoni ) in the reverse fixture against Mumbai Indians on Friday.

Yet, With 16 points in 12 games and also by virtue of RR's victory vs SRH on Saturday, CSK officially got into the playoffs for the 10th time.

Delhi capitals , The current Delhi based team went through to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

They ended up being 3rd best in that edition after finishing first in the league standings.

In the first two seasons of IPL ,Delhi Daredevils was a semifinalist ending up fourth and third respectively in the tournament.

In the league table standings,The team finished fourth and first

After that

2010-5th/8
2011 -10th/10
2013 9th /9
2014 8th/8
2015 7th/8
2016 6th/8
2017 6th/8
2018 8th /8

DC achieved the status by defeating RCB by a 16 run margin on Sunday .

With a strong Indian core and a bunch of T20 specialists, including overseas players, DC are well balanced in this season. Consistent batting from Dhawan, Pant and Shreyas Iyer and exceptional bowling display by Rabada with 25 wickets in 12 matches, Keep Delhi very much alive and kicking in contention for their maiden title.

CSK on the other hand, Suffered a humiliating defeat to MI by a huge margin of 46 runs, When chasing a mere 156.

While Santner displayed his all-around skills brilliantly in the previous match, CSK seems to be missing consistency from its batsmen, Excluding Dhoni.

The trio of Rayudu, Jadhav, and Watson seem to suffer even now, After having given a long rope. While Watson showed his heroics once against SRH at Chennai, Rayudu and Jadhav are yet to make their marks up to their potential.

DC would not possibly tinker their playing XI in order to maintain momentum.

CSK management and also the fans ,Would expect the return of Dhoni ,Jadeja .

While its almost clear that South African players would leave within may 5th , Murali Vijay may get another go in place of Faf.

Having got a better track than what CSK had in their previous matches at home ,Both Mi and MI put on underwhelming performances on Friday with the bat .The exuberant DC side would look to make a mark in their reverse fixture against CSK and would look to settle the scores straight for the six wicket defeat they suffered at Delhi on 26th April .

On the whole ,A cracker of a match awaits . Will it be 6-1 or 5-2 for CSK in league phase at home ?

Time will tell .

- Kumaran Kumanan

Images Courtesy - iplt20.com