Captain Aaron Finch will lead an equally strong batting line-up also featuring the talents of David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin says New Zealand, despite the absence of the long-serving pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have quit playing the 50-over format, will pose a challenge to India.
The new-entrants have further been bolstered by the addition of the multi-talented duo of Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis. The two adding more depth in both bowling and batting.
Having made it to the IPL for the first time ever, Delhi Capitals are up against the rampaging Mumbai Indians, who have already beaten them thrice this season and are looking all set for their fifth IPL title.
CSK, coming off consecutive losses to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, will be aiming to bounce back against Lucknow Super Giants.
'We have plenty of options here to cover the forced changes of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Marsh, so we'll have another look at the wicket tomorrow and we'll name the team at the toss'
Australia opener David Warner has expressed concern for the future of Test cricket, with emerging players focusing on "short term" interests as lucrative T20 leagues proliferate globally.
Punjab Kings stand-in skipper Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza posted notable performances as the visitors clinched a thrilling win over the Lucknow Super Giants.
It will be quite a role reversal with Australia being the proverbial underdogs in Thursday's semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup against a red-hot Pakistan who have displayed rare consistency to set alight the tournament.
Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock hit fifties as LSG trounced CSK by eight wickets.
Stand-in skipper Matthew Wade has lauded the depth of Australia's T20 team and says selectors will have a headache picking a World Cup squad following the whitewash in New Zealand.
LSG do not have to fret so much about the mathematical scenarios as a win would be enough for them to seal their back-to-back playoff berth.
India marched into the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Monday as skipper Rohit Sharma's blistering 92 set up a 24-run victory over Australia.
The batters never really looked like they were going hard enough for the target and seemed more focused on mitigating the damage to their net run rate.
Delhi Capitals' bowling unit will have to punch above its weight against an in-form Lucknow Super Giants, who will start as overwhelming favourites in an Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Friday.
The prolific right-hand batsman, who joined the Rajasthan Royals franchise in 2019, captained the side in the 2020 edition in the UAE, where they finished last.
Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Manoj Tiwary bagged five wickets as India 'A' beat Australia 'A' by five wickets, at Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin on Thursday, two days ahead of the Quadrangular series final between the two teams.
Blowing hot and cold, Lucknow Super Giants will look to return to winning ways when they clash against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals
Delhi Capitals will look to bounce back and make the most of their second opportunity to qualify for the IPL final, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Moeen Ali said he has no issues with his spin being used sparingly by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the Chennai Super Kings all-rounder helped his team to victory over Lucknow Super Giants.
LSG were in deep trouble before Stoinis and Pooran unleashed their brutal onslaught.
Images from the T20 World Cup Group B match between Australia and England, at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.
Scenes from the post triumph celebrations after Australia won its first T20 World Cup championship at the Dubai international cricket stadium on Sunday.
Returning to their den at the Chepauk, Chennai Super Kings will look to bounce back from their opening day win when they take on Lucknow Super Giants.
New Zealand thrashed Australia by 53 runs in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Matheesha Pathirana stood out with his searing pace in a match dominated by the batters.
Delhi Capitals are likely to have a much leaner coaching staff next season with head coach Ricky Ponting's future set to be examined at the end of the season.
LSG skipper praised Marcus Stoinis for his excellent innings. Stoinis smashed 38 not out in just 17 runs.
Australia might be forced to use support staff as substitute fielders in the T20 World Cup warm-up games.
Suryakumar Yadav leads a sprightly bunch of 'Gen-Next' stars against a strong Australian side in a five-match T20 series, starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians' bowling coach Shane Bond expressed his frustration with the team's bowling unit for committing the 'same mistake over and over again' in match situations.
A career-best unbeaten 92 from new captain Mitch Marsh propelled Australia to a comprehensive 111-run victory over hosts South Africa in the first Twenty20 International in Durban on Wednesday.
Images from the second T20 International between England and Australia, at Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground, Cardiff, Wales, on Friday.
The focus will be on K L Rahul's form and fitness when he returns after a quadriceps injury lay-off to lead Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2024 opener against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Sunday.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between Sri Lanka and Australia, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Travis Head struck a remarkable 19-ball half century, including 30 off one over, as Australia beat England by 28 runs in the first match of their T20 series in Southampton on Wednesday.
Sometimes the MVPI table throws up intriguing situations: Four out of the top five in the table are left-handed batters. Do left-handers truly enjoy an advantage in the IPL? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2024 after the league stage.
LSG are sitting in second place with 14 point thanks to a stupendous show by Rahul
'Hope he comes back strongly after this break.'
