Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Qualifier 1 Live Score IPL 2021: Follow Live Updates from Dubai

DC vs CSK Live: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) Qualifier 1 Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on indiatvnews.com.

Delhi Capitals are aiming for their maiden Indian Premier League title against the Chennai Super Kings, who have won three titles so far. MS Dhoni's side won its last IPL trophy in 2018.

LIVE UPDATES

23.17 IST: CSK are in their 9th IPL final! MS Dhoni finishes with a four as Chennai beat Delhi by four wickets. Ruturaj-Uthappa partnership laid the foundation and skipper Dhoni added final touches to help Chennai chase 173 and book a place in the final of IPL 2021.  

23.13 IST: Dhoni slams a boundary off Curran. Nine runs needed off the last four deliveries, with Dhoni and Jadeja at the crease. 

23.04 IST: OUT! Ruturaj falls for 70! A brilliant diving catch by Axar as Avesh picks up his first wicket of the match. Dhoni joins Moeen in the middle. 

23.01 IST: 11 from Nortje's over including 2 fours from Ruturaj. Chennai need 24 off the last two overs to sail into the finals. 

22.50 IST: Gaikwad and Rayudu went for the second run but Iyer did well to throw it towards the stumps. Rabada managed to collect the ball and disturb the furniture to catch Rayudu short. Chennai are in trouble but Gaikwad is still at the crease. 

22.49 IST: OUT! It's Iyer again! A brilliant throw and Rayudu falls short of the crease. Just 10 runs and 3 wickets and Delhi are back in the contest. Chennai 121/4 after 15 overs. 

22.47 IST: WICKET! Second blow for Chennai in the same over. Iyer picks the catch again after Shardul mistimes Curran's slower delivery. Chennai 117/3 after 14 overs. 

22.39 IST: OUT! Uthappa walks back after a brilliant fifty. Iyer charges in from long-on to take a stunner near the boundary rope. Curran with the breakthrough as Chennai lose their second wicket in 173-chase. 

22.25 IST: Uthappa and Ruturaj have added 100 for the second wicket. The contest seems to be slipping away from Delhi. After du Plessis' early departure, the two have been solid in the run-chase. Chennai 111/1 after 13 overs. 

22.13 IST: Fifty for Uthappa! He notches up his first IPL fifty since 2018. Came into the Playing 11 in place of Raina and has certainly left a mark. CSK are inching closer towards their ninth IPL final and fourth title. Chennai 94/1 after 11 overs. 

21.50 IST: Vintage Uthappa in action! Slams two sixes and as many fours to help Chennai reach the highest Powerplay score against Delhi in the UAE.  20 runs off Avesh's over as Chennai register 59/1 in the first six overs.  

21.35 IST: WICKET! What a start for the Delhi Capitals! Anrich Nortje breaches Faf du Plessis' defence to inflict Chennai the early blow in the run-chase. The South African falls for 1. CSK 3/1 in 0.4 overs

21.13 IST: Chennai Super Kings need 173 runs to win

A 60-run stand between Pant and Hetmyer has helped Delhi notch up 172 runs on the board. Opener Shaw laid the foundation with a 34-ball 60 before Hetmyer (37 from 24 deliveries) and Pant (51 not out) upped the ante. 

For Chennai, Hazlewood removed both the openers to record figures of 2/29 in his four overs. Jadeja, Moeen and Bravo also picked a wicket each. 

21.05 IST: OUT! Bravo removes Hetmyer for 37. Hetmyer looks to clear the long boundary but picks out Jadeja at deep midwicket. Tom Curran joins Pant for the last eight deliveries of the innings. 

21.03 IST: One-handed six again from Pant! A slower one from Bravo and Pant smokes it straight down the ground. 

20.58 IST: 45 off the last four overs and Delhi are back in the contest. Pant and Hetmyer will be key till the last over. A good total and the boys in blue will be eyeing consecutive IPL finals. Delhi 141/4 after 17 overs. 

20.47 IST: A low full toss outside off from Shardul and Pant comes up with one-handed six! The DC skipper swings his bat and clears long-on boundary. Delhi 128/4 after 16 overs.

20.40 IST: Pant (24y 6d) is the youngest skipper to lead a team in the IPL playoffs. Delhi have managed to add 35 runs in the last five overs, with Pant and Hetymer taking them past the 100-run mark. The average first innings score on this surface is around 155. In fact, anything above 160 hasn't been easy to chase down this season. Delhi 114/4 after 15 overs.

20.37 IST: Hetmyer whacks it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. A much-needed boundary for Delhi after losing quick wickets. With Hetmyer and Pant at the crease, we might see a few fireworks towards the end. Delhi 107/4 after 14 overs

20.21 IST: WICKET! Shaw's stay finally comes to an end. Fourth blow for Delhi. He tries to take on Jadeja with an inside-out loft but picks out du Plessis. Pant and Hetmyer are at the crease. Delhi 83/4 after 11 overs. 

20.15 IST: OUT! Axar tries to pull Moeen's delivery but finds Santner at long-on. Top-edge and the fielder makes no mistake. Shaw is losing partners at the other end.

20.12 IST: Hazlewood's double-strike slowed up Delhi's run-flow but Shaw has stuck with his fearless approach, hitting boundaries at timely intervals. He has notched up his first fifty of the UAE leg. His 10th IPL fifty overall. 

19.58 IST: OUT! Leading edge and Iyer balloons it in the air. Gaikwad keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a brilliant catch. Axar joins Shaw in the middle. Chennai are the one in the driver's seat. Delhi 51/2 after 6 overs. 

19.52 IST: Shardul into the attack and Shaw welcomes him with two sixes. He dispatches one over deep mid-wicket boundary and another one straight down the ground! Shaw inches closer to fifty. Delhi 50/1 after 5 overs. 

19.48 IST: WICKET! Hazlewood removes Dhawan for 7. Dhawan started off with a boundary but nicked the next ball to Dhoni. A faint edge and Dhoni doesn't drop those. Hazlewood with the much-needed breakthrough. Shreyas Iyer comes to the crease. Delhi 36/1 after 4 overs. 

19.42 IST: 17 off the third over. Shaw finds the gap with ease and picks up four boundaries against Chahar. Delhi 32/0 after 3 overs. 

19.30 IST: Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan open the innings for Delhi. Deepak Chahar initiates Chennai's bowling attack. 

19.05 IST: No changes for Chennai while Delhi bring in Tom Curran in place of Ripal Patel.

MS Dhoni - We will bowl. Whatever games we have played so far, the guys felt there was a bit of help for the seamers initially, it's a tough wicket, but it could get better later on. We try to keep it simple, irrespective of any game. We analyse our shortcomings and it has helped us. We're playing the same eleven.

Rishabh Pant - We are fine with the toss, but we'd have bowled first. Slightly nervous, but it's part and parcel of the game. One change for us - Ripal Patel goes out, Tom Curran comes in. When you win games, the confidence level is high, but we'll not take the match lightly.

19.01 IST: Chennai Super Kings have opted to bowl first against Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tom Curran, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

18.48 IST: Chennai have missed the services of Suresh Raina in their last two games as he was forced out with a knee injury. Will he return to the Playing 11?

18.40 IST: "There is less grass, it is nice and dry. But the cracks haven't come into play because this is only the third time we are using this pitch. 160 is the score, but if the middle order gets going 170 is an option," says Matthew Hayden on the pitch. 

18.05 IST: Head to Head - Matches Played: 25 | Delhi Capitals Won: 10 | Chennai Super Kings Won: 15

17.55 IST: Dubai weather

According to AccuWeather, the weather in Dubai will remain clear throughout the night, with temperatures fluctuating between 33-35 celsius. Dew is expected to play a role towards the later stages of the game. Visibility remains strong at 1.6km. There are no chances of rain.

17.56 IST: Pitch Report

Anything above 160 hasn't been easy to chase down this season. Bowlers, with pace variations, often excel in such conditions while slow bowlers have often contained runs in the middle overs.

16.50 IST: It's the showdown between the two most consistent sides in IPL 2021 for a place in the final. Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in Dubai.

IPL 2021, DC vs CSK PREVIEW: Chennai Super Kings' old guards with an uncanny knack of owning the big stage at right moments, will start as favourites against a solid Delhi Capitals line-up led by 'young pretender' Rishabh Pant in what promises to be an exciting first IPL Qualifier here on Sunday.

Capitals were the best team in the league and their 20-point finish at the group stage was an indication of their consistent performances which didn't dip due to the COVID-19 forced break. FULL PREVIEW