The resurgent CSK put up yet another dominating performance as they managed to register second victory after MS Dhoni’s return to captaincy. It was a total mauling of the Capitals, whose playoff chances will be severely hit by the massive defeat handed to them by the Yellow Army.
Devon Conway continued his spectacular form at the top of the order before a good finish courtesy of Dhoni took CSK to 208 before a brilliant bowling performance ensured a comfortable victory for the defending champions.
Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant won the toss and decided to field first. Chennai got off to a flyer, as both Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad were striking the ball sweetly from the very beginning. The opening duo went at over 10 an over for almost their entire partnership and added yet another century stand.
Following Gaikwad’s dismissal, Shivam Dube came in and scored a quickfire 31 to keep the scoring rate intact. Conway eventually fell for a marvellous 87 before MS Dhoni finished the innings with a flurry, taking Chennai’s total to 208/6.
Delhi’s innings was a complete and utter disaster. Yet another experiment at the top of the order due to Prithvi Shaw being unavailable resulted in failure, as KS Bharath could not make much of an impact. David Warner was also taken care of by Maheesh Theekshana.
Mitchell Marsh and Pant added a few runs for the third wicket before both batsmen fell in quick succession, triggering a huge collapse in the Delhi batting order.
The Delhi batsmen seemed fragile at best. Moeen Ali ripped through their middle order to put Chennai firmly in the driver’s seat. The innings did not carry on for much longer, as wickets kept falling for the Capitals, eventually securing a 91-run victory for the defending champions. Conway’s fantastic innings of 87 at the top of the order earned him a richly deserved man-of-the-match award.
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 208/6 ( Conway 87, Gaikwad 41; Nortje 3/42) beat Delhi Capitals 117 all out (Marsh 25,Thakur 24; Ali 3/13) by 91 Runs.
