Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals by 27 runs at Chepauk thanks to an all-around performance that allowed the four-time winners advance to the IPL playoffs.
Shivam Dube led CSK in scoring with 25 runs, but six other hitters reached the 20-run mark, including MS Dhoni with 20 in nine deliveries.
After Deepak Chahar dismissed both of the Capitals openers in the space of three overs, CSK gained the upper hand by scoring 167 thanks to Dhoni’s late hits.
After the Capitals fell to 25 for 3, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja applied the squeeze, and in the end, Matheesha Pathirana put the finishing touches on a victory for the hosts that increased their NRR.
With 15 points in 12 games, CSK are now almost guaranteed to finish in the top four, and another victory in their next two games should guarantee a top-two finish. The best the Capitals can do right now is 14 points, which may not be enough for this season.
Although David Warner and Phil Salt’s early dismissals by Chahar had shaken Capitals early, the visitors were expecting that Manish Pandey, who was returning to the lineup, and Mitchell Marsh would help them out of their predicament.
But Marsh was left stranded beyond his crease when Pandey misjudged and went for a single that wasn’t there before turning around.
With the score at 25 for 3, that compelled Pandey and No. 5 Rilee Rossouw to begin a recovery effort, but the CSK spinners’ control during the powerplay limited them.
While Pandey and Rossouw were still in the game, there was still a chance for a late blast to increase the run rate. Pandey made 27 in 29 while Rossouw scored 35 in 37.
Rossouw was caught off Jadeja, and Pandey was lbw to Pathirana, but both fell in rapid succession after struggling to pick up the pace, which killed the impetus of the pursuit.
Axar Patel gave Capitals a fleeting ray of hope with making 20 in just 11 balls, but his dismissal to Pathirana in the 18th over effectively put an end to their ambitions.
The Capitals needed 43 runs off the last over after Tushar Deshpande bowled a clean 19th over. Additionally, despite Pathirana being struck by Lalit Yadav for a hat-trick of fours in the game’s final over, the Sri Lankan Impact Player claimed a third victim in the penultimate delivery to finish with 3 for 37.
“We threw our wickets at the top,”
Warner said after the game.
“I don’t think there was any good bowling to get us out, but that run-out put some pressure on us.
“Fifty-odd dot balls as well [55 dots] and you don’t win many games where that happens. There were four overs where we failed to rotate the strike.”
Ishant Sharma was hit for 23 runs in his first two overs of the first innings, so Warner quickly switched to spin and was successful when Axar got Devon Conway out early and then Ruturaj Gaikwad out for 24 runs just after the powerplay.
After that, Lalit held on to an incredible caught-and-bowled opportunity to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane for 21, and when Kuldeep Yadav removed Moeen for only 7, there was a chance that CSK would put up a low total.
But Dube, who was also dealing with a finger injury from the Mumbai Indians match, came in and crushed Lalit with some assistance from Ambati Rayudu as well for a 23-run over. It was against the grain of play for their duo to score 36 in just 19 balls.
Dube was out for 25, but his runs at a strike rate of 208.33 served as a warning that subpar deliveries still needed to be thrown away. CSK were 113 for 5 in 14.2 overs when he was bowled out.
After a slow start, Jadeja hit Kuldeep for a six to start CSK’s comeback in the 18th over. Dhoni then wrecked Khaleel Ahmed’s statistics when he was having trouble sprinting.
After three overs, Khaleel had a four-economy rate, but by being dependable against Dhoni, he misplayed the situation.
When Khaleel pushed deliveries over to Dhoni, the latter pounced, drawing him for six, getting an edge for four, and concluding the over with a straight six.
Even though Marsh claimed two wickets in the 20th over, which had seven runs, the total of 167 proved to be too much on the sluggish Chepauk surface, making choosing to bat first at the toss the wise choice. That 21-run over in the 19th over enabled CSK to reach 160.
“That’s what my job is,”
Dhoni said about his nine-ball 20 after the game.
“I told them this is what I’m supposed to do, don’t make me run a lot. This is working, others are doing their job, and I’m happy to contribute. Accordingly, I am practicing as well.
“We frankly did not know what a good score was. When you get 160-170, you never know if it is enough.”