55th Match, IPL: Chennai Super Kings 167 for 8 (Dube 25, Marsh 3-18) beat Delhi Capitals 140 for 8 (Rossouw 35, Pathirana 3-37, Chahar 2-28) by 27 runs

At Chepauk, Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals by 27 runs thanks to an all-around performance, moving the four-time champions one step closer to the IPL playoffs.

CSK’s most elevated run-scorer was Shivam Dube with 25, yet six players entered the twenties, including MS Dhoni who made 20 of every nine deliveries.

Dhoni’s late hits lifted CSK to 167, and after that Deepak Chahar gave them the high ground by eliminating the two Capitals openers inside three overs.

After Capitals fell to 25 for 3, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja added pressure, and Matheesha Pathirana added the finishing touch to ensure the hosts’ NRR-boosting victory.

With 15 points from 12 games, CSK almost certainly will finish in the top four, and they should finish in the top two with another win in their next two games. The Capitals can now arrive at 14 focuses, best case scenario, which reasonably probably won’t be sufficient this season.

Capitals fail to recover

The Capitals were rattled by Chahar’s early dismissals of David Warner and Phil Salt, but the visitors were hoping that Manish Pandey, who was back in the team, and Mitchell Marsh would rescue them from their predicament. Marsh, on the other hand, was left stranded outside of his crease as a result of Pandey’s erroneous search for a single that was not present.

That constrained Pandey and negative. 5 Rilee Rossouw to start a recovery job, with the score 25 for 3, but the CSK spinners’ grip on the game was too much for them after the powerplay. There was hope for a late blast to raise the run-rate while Pandey scored 27 in 29 and Rossouw scored 35 in 27.

However, the chase lost momentum when both fell quickly after struggling to pick up the pace: Pandey was lbw to Pathirana and Rossouw was caught by Jadeja. By scoring 20 in 11 balls, Axar Patel gave the Capitals a glimmer of hope, but his dismissal to Pathirana in the 18th over effectively ended their hopes.

Capitals needed 43 off the final over after Tushar Deshpande’s clean 19th over. In addition, despite the fact that Pathirana was hit by Lalit Yadav for a hat trick of fours in the final over, the Sri Lankan Impact Player claimed a third scalp in the game’s penultimate delivery to earn 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.”

Dube injects energy into CSK’s first innings

Warner moved to spin early after Ishant Sharma was run out for 23 in his first two overs of the first innings. He was successful when Axar got Devon Conway out early and then got Ruturaj Gaikwad out for 24 right after the powerplay.

After that, Lalit made a stunning catch-and-bowl catch to get rid of Ajinkya Rahane for 21, and when Kuldeep Yadav bowled Moeen out for seven, there was a chance that CSK would lose the game.

The heart leapt twice today! 💛🦁#CSKvDC #WhistlePodu #Yellove @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/kDHYrtYItD

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 10, 2023

However, Dube, who was also dealing with a finger injury from the Mumbai Indians game, entered the game and, with assistance from Ambati Rayudu, smashed Lalit for 23 runs. Their 36 runs together in just 19 balls were against the rules.

Dube’s runs at a strike rate of 208.33, despite his 25-run loss, served as a reminder that bad pitches still deserved to be bowled out. CSK were 113 for 5 in 14.2 overs when he fell.

Dhoni provides the midas touch

Jadeja was delayed off the blocks, yet started CSK’s charge in the eighteenth over by hitting Kuldeep for a six. Then Dhoni, who was battling with his running, demolished Khaleel Ahmed’s figures. After three overs, Khaleel had an economy of four, but he erred against Dhoni by being predictable. Khaleel pushed deliveries across to Dhoni and he jumped on them by pulling him for six, then, at that point, getting an edge for four preceding completing the over with a straight six.

CSK reached 160 with that 21-run 19th over, and even though Marsh took two wickets in a seven-run 20th over, the total of 167 was too much on a sluggish Chepauk surface, so winning the toss and choosing to bat first was the right move.

“That’s what my job is. 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.”

Dhoni said about his nine-ball 20 after the game.