IPL 2021: CSK vs DC Review – Delhi thump Chennai to earn a comfortable opening victory
Finalists of the last season of the IPL, Delhi Capitals started their campaign of 2020 with a dominating win against the three-time champions, Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing a target of 189, Capitals’ were in complete control throughout the run chase, courtesy of brilliant knocks by Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw.
Rishabh Pant won the toss in his first match as captain in the IPL and elected to field first. Delhi struck early and reduced CSK to 7 for 2 in the first three overs. Suresh Raina, who missed the 2020 season, made a fantastic comeback in the yellow jersey. His knock of 54 coming from 36 balls, stabilised and set a good platform for Chennai.
That’s that from Match 2 of #VIVOIPL 2021@DelhiCapitals win by 7 wickets ??
Scorecard – https://t.co/jtX8TWxySo #CSKvDC pic.twitter.com/pkFHrX2z0o
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 10, 2021
There were contributions from several other batsmen like Moeen Ali (36 off 24 balls), Ambati Rayudu (23 off 16 balls), Ravindra Jadeja (26 off 17 balls) and Sam Curran (34 from 15 balls). Some late hitting despite losing wickets in the middle overs helped Chennai reach 188 for 7. However, their bowling let them down on wicket where there wasn’t too much help for the bowlers anyway.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan shared a record partnership of 138 runs for the opening wicket. Shaw played a magnificent innings, having made some technical changes in his batting style. He ended with 72 runs from 38 balls. Dhawan made 85 runs off 54 balls, an innings which helped Delhi be in control of the chase after Shaw’s wicket. Rishabh Pant finished off the match with an unbeaten knock of 15 and sealed a seven-wicket win.
Turning points:
Delhi Capitals’ opening spell: Delhi started off their bowling with an unlikely combination of Avesh Khan and Chris Woakes. However, the plan worked fantastically as the duo bowled a quiet first four overs. They also got the wickets of the Chennai openers and didn’t allow them to start off quickly. Had Chennai got off to a good start, maybe they might have scored a few more runs. Their combined figures in the first overs were 2 for 20. Both also came back well to bowl some good overs later on in the innings as well.
Shaw-Dhawan partnership: The openers of Delhi Capitals just took the game away from Chennai. They played at the right pace and always kept the pressure on the bowlers. They got boundaries consistently and regularly during the entire stand, which didn’t allow the CSK bowlers to settle. They also ensured that the required rate never got too high. It was because of the 138-run opening stand that Delhi finished off the run chase with eight balls to spare.
Records/Personal Milestones:
Second-highest partnership in the IPL against Chennai Super Kings: Shaw-Dhawan, 138 runs
Third-highest opening stand of Delhi in the IPL: Shaw-Dhawan, 138 runs
Shikhar Dhawan became the first player to complete 600 fours in IPL.
A new ??????? for Gabbar ?️
First to 6⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Fours and each one of them filled with 100% swag ?#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #CSKvDC pic.twitter.com/DnX3ag4KFX
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 10, 2021
Way Ahead
Delhi Capitals will be facing Rajasthan Royals in their next game on April 15. Chennai’s next match is against Punjab Kings on April 16. Both the matches will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
