Delhi Capitals (DC) added another important victory to their winning momentum, as Rishabh Pant’s boys held their nerve to edge Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a three-wicket win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.
The win took DC back to the top of the table, further strengthening their chances of finishing as sole table-toppers at the end of the league stage.
Chennai Super Kings Innings
Flop show by Chennai’s top order: A combination of pace and spin dismantled CSK top order. While Anrich Nortje sent back the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad (13), spinners Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin combined to get rid of Faf du Plessis (10), Moeen Ali (5) and Robin Uthappa (19) to leave MS Dhoni’s men tottering at 62/4 in the ninth over.
Veterans Rayudu and Dhoni steadied the CSK ship: Ambati Rayudu then spearheaded the repair work and added 70 runs for the fifth wicket with skipper MS Dhoni. The partnership was broken by Avesh Khan, who dismissed the CSK skipper caught behind by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for a 27-ball 18.
Rayudu’s half-century gave the CSK total a respectable look: Rayudu remained not out, scoring 55 off 43 balls, and took the CSK total past the 130-run mark. They eventually ended up scoring 136/5, which was somewhat par for the course.
Delhi Capitals Innings
Dhawan held up one end, while the rest came and went at the other: Shikhar Dhawan buckled down at one end to score 39 off 35 balls, but kept losing partners at the other, which did not allow him to unleash himself completely. Prithvi Shaw (18) added 24 with Dhawan but holed out to Du Plessis off Deepak Chahar. Shreyas Iyer (2) too didn’t last long, followed by the dismissal of skipper Rishabh Pant for 15.
Shardul’s double-wicket over made the game interesting: Ripal Patel (18) gave Dhawan support for a while, but he too joined the procession of DC batsmen going back to the hut. It was then the turn of Shardul Thakur, who struck twice in the 15th over to get the important wickets of Dhawan and Ashwin (2) to bring CSK back into the game, with DC 99/5 in 15 overs.
Hetmyer’s crucial cameo sealed the win for Delhi: With the match turning into a thriller and a tight finish on the cards, West Indian Shimron Hetmyer brought his finishing skills to the fore with an 18-ball 28* to lead DC to a win and back to the top of the points table.