Delhi Capitals edged past Chennai Super Kings by three wickets at Dubai on Monday, courtesy of Axar Patel and Shimron Hetmyer, to jump to the top of the table.
The Capital’s moved to the top of the table with 20 points from 13 matches, securing their top-two berth. The Super Kings, with this loss, have made themselves vulnerable to a possibility of Royal Challengers Bangalore displacing them from the top two. CSK have 18 points from 13 games, but their positive net run-rate of +0.739 compared to RCB’s -0.157, should see them home if they win the last league game.
Axar Patel and Shimron Hetmyer were the key driving forces for Delhi in this victory. Axar helped DC restrict the opponents to 136/5 with his excellent spell of 2/18, while Hetmyer took them over the finishing line with a quickfire 28* off 18.
As it happened, DC won the toss and elected to field first. CSK Kings got off to a flying start with 26 runs on the board in two overs, including 10 extras in the first, as DC pacers were all over the place. Axar was brought into the attack early, and he immediately produced a breakthrough as Faf du Plessis (10 off 8) holed out at deep midwicket.
The century-maker from the last game, Ruturaj Gaikwad (13 off 13) couldn’t do much as one short delivery by Anrich Nortje got big on him, and he sliced the pull shot at midwicket.
Moeen Ali (5 off 8) and Robin Uthappa (19 off 19) were dismissed in quick succession by DC’s spin duo to reduce CSK to 62/4 in 8.3 overs. MS Dhoni walked in ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and struggled to get going throughout the innings.
Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu had a pedestrian partnership as CSK reached only 104/4 in 17 overs. Rayudu smashed two fours and two sixes each in the next two overs to somewhat recover the innings and bring up his fifty off 40 balls. Avesh Khan bowled a brilliant last over, dismissing Dhoni on 18 off 27 and conceded only four runs.
Chasing 137, Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan got DC off to a flyer, scoring 24 runs in 2.2 overs. Shaw was dismissed on the next delivery, trying to clear the infield but sliced it in the air on 18 off 12. Dhawan laid into Deepak Chahar in the fifth over, smashing two fours and two sixes. Shreyas Iyer was dismissed in the next over by Josh Hazlewood trying to pull him, with DC finishing the powerplay on 51/2.
In his short stay, Rishabh Pant showed glimpses of his younger self and tried to impose himself on the game. After a couple of boundaries, he was caught at point off Jadeja, trying to slog-sweep him only to get a top edge. Ripal Patel, who scored 18 off 20 on his debut, was dismissed by Jadeja in the 13th over. Shardul Thakur dismissed R Ashwin (2 off 3) and Dhawan (39 off 35) in the same over to send panic in DC’s camp.
Delhi needed 38 off 30 balls with only four wickets remaining. A tight couple of overs brought the equation to 28 off 18. Hetmyer smashed Dwayne Bravo for two fours in the 18th and Hazlewood for a six in the 19th to bring the equation down to run-a-ball in the last over.
Axar was caught at cover on the third ball of the over by Bravo. With 2 needed off 3, Kagiso Rabada clipped the next delivery to fine leg for four as Hetmyer jumped in the air in jubilation.
Brief Scores
Chennai Super Kings – 136/5 in 20 overs (Rayudu 55*, Uthappa 19; Patel 2/18, R Ashwin 1/20)
Delhi Capitals – 139/7 in 19.4 overs (Dhawan 39, Hetmyer 28; Thakur 2/13, Jadeja 2/28) won by three wickets.
