Delhi Daredevils (DD) denied Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a top-two finish as they thumped the Super Kings by a huge margin of 34 runs in the 52nd match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.
Dhoni wouldn’t have thought that the pitch would get slower in the second innings as he opted to field after winning the toss. Delhi got off to a slow start as Prithvi Shaw (17) and Shreyas Iyer (19) opened the innings. Only Rishabh Pant (38) got some big hits going before Lungi Ngidi (2/14) sent back both Iyer and Pant in the 11th over. Shot-making looked extremely difficult on a sluggish pitch but Vijay Shankar (36*) and Harshal Patel (36* off 16) did hit some meaty blows towards the end as they shared a 65-run unbeaten partnership to help Delhi reach a par total of 162/5 after 20 overs.
Find the full match scorecard here.
Chasing 163, even CSK’s innings never kicked on as Shane Watson departed after struggling to 14 off 23. But Ambati Rayudu scored yet another brisk 50 before he holed out at deep mid-wicket. After his dismissal, leg-spinners Amit Mishra (2/20) and Sandeep Lamichhane (1/21) strangled the CSK batsmen as the pitch also got more difficult to bat on. Trent Boult (2/20) was equally superb with the ball as he executed his plans perfectly at the death and denied the batsmen to hit him for boundaries. Ravindra Jadeja (27*) did hit two sixes towards the end but CSK needed more. Barring Avesh Khan and Glenn Maxwell, all the DD bowlers bowled at an economy rate of less than 6 as Chennai were restricted to 128/6 in their quota of 20 overs.
Catch all the highlights from the game here.
Turning Point
On a pitch where shot-making was extremely difficult, Dwayne Bravo offered freebies to Harshal Patel and Vijay Shankar in the last over of the DD innings. Both the batsmen punished Bravo as 26 came off that over. Not only those runs made the eventual difference in the match, it also gave Delhi the momentum they needed to stop Chennai. So the last over from Bravo is the turning point of the match.
Best Dismissal
Shane Watson was finding it difficult to time the ball. Amit Mishra bowled a flighted leg-spinner to him outside off, which Watto went after but didn’t get the distance as he was caught at long off. It is the best dismissal of the match as Mishra showed the courage to toss the ball up to a hitter like Watson and getting him out with classic leg-spin bowling.
Batsman of the Match
On a pitch, where all batsmen struggled to make runs, Ambati Rayudu batted like a boss. He is the batsman of the match. Not only he top scored in the match with a fifty but he also batted with authority and showed an array of shots all around the ground. He smacked four sixes and an equal number of fours.
Bowler of the Match
For his superb spell of 2/20, Amit Mishra is the bowler of the match. Mishra displayed all his variations and never really allowed the mighty CSK batting line-up to go after him. His leg-breaks, googlies and sliders were right on the money.
Captain’s views
Shreyas Iyer (DD Captain): CSK are one of the best teams in the competition it was a great result for us. It wasn't easy to bat on this wicket and Harshal delivered amazingly, it was important to get us to 163. The way he bowled was also really impressive. We have been up to the mark but not been able to execute, both our departments weren't clicking but they did today.
MS Dhoni (CSK Captain): The pitch got a little more difficult as the game went on. Their bowlers bowled well, and how the wicket played makes it easier for us to assess what went wrong. I told my team not to worry about the points table, but to take the game one at a time, we have to more mentally ready for the next game. If we get our death bowling sorted out that would be great. We will try to manage the big stage when it comes and we'll need to be at our best and perform as a team to get to the Finals.
What’s next
Both the teams will play their last group matches of this season on Sunday. Delhi will host Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium and try to play party poopers for MI now. And Chennai will take on Kings XI Punjab at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune to seal a top-two finish.
Points Table
The result of this match hasn’t had any effect on the respective positions of the two teams. With only their fourth win from 13 games, Delhi are still at the bottom with eight points. On the other hand, Chennai remain at the No. 2 spot with 16 points from 13 matches. This was their fifth loss this season.
Check out the updated points table here.
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