Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scripted a close-to-perfect game in a 77-run victory over Delhi Capitals to secure another entry into the play-off stage of the Tata Indian Premier League. With the Delhi crowd also celebrating the perceived farewell tour of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai skipper, Delhi came nowhere close to its stated desire of spoiling the visiting team’s party.
As Chennai head home, it will be delighted that Gai-Way, the opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, found the perfect time to score a half-century each while sharing a second century stand this season. There would have been just as much satisfaction over Deepak Chahar’s continued success with the new ball, as he scalped Phil Salt and Rilee Rossouw with successive deliveries. Here are the takeaways from the game.
On the Gai-Way to a big total
Chennai’s opening combination has been one of the more dynamic pairs, but went without a century stand after their second game in Lucknow. In fact, Gai-Way’s last half-century partnership came four games ago on April 30. Neither opener had made a half-century in May. They chose Saturday to find rhythm and stamp their class with a 141-run stand, their best of the season.
Their chemistry was on display, Conway (87, 52 balls, 11 fours, three sixes) letting Gaikwad (79, 50 balls, three fours, seven sixes) play the lead role in making Feroz Shah Kotla look smaller. This season’s flattest deck rolled out by the Delhi ground staff drew the Delhi bowlers’ teeth out and allowed Gai-Way to get Chennai Super Kings to a big score.
A 141-run partnership between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway followed by cameos from Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja power Chennai Super Kings to a mammoth 223/3 in 20 overs.
Can Delhi Capitals spoil CSK’s party?
📸@IPL#IPL2023 #DCvCSK pic.twitter.com/ftbKEa5u7h
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 20, 2023
Chetan Sakariya lays speed-breakers
There was only a minor blip during that stand, when Chetan Sakariya, the left-arm seamer, came on to bowl the sixth over of the day and conceded just two runs to stop Chennai Super Kings from sustaining the 10-runs-an-over scoring rate. The openers added just 22 runs in four overs before Gaikwad broke free with successive sixes off Axar Patel’s left-arm spin.
By the time Sakariya bounced out Gaikwad in the 15th over, Chennai had got the run-rate back up at 10 an over, setting the stage for Conway and Shivam Dube, left-hand batters both, to fire 54 off just 22 deliveries.
Dhoni was a privileged spectator when Ravindra Jadeja blazed away during the 28-run stand to take the total close to 225. Sakariya discovered that the joys of three good overs against marauding batters could evaporate when bowling the final over to Jadeja, who found two fours square on the leg-side. A couple of wides and a no-ball added to his woes.
Chahar adds to degree of difficulty
After Tushar Deshpande induced Prithvi Shaw to chip to mid-off where Ambati Rayudu pulled off an athletic catch in just the second over, Chahar enhanced his reputation as one of the best power play bowlers around. On a track that was losing pace, Chahar used his cutters to great effect, accounting for the scalps of the dangerous Salt and Rossouw.
Barring David Warner (86, 58 balls, seven fours, five sixes), the home bats found the combination of Dhoni’s shrewd leadership, smart bowling by an attack that was highly charged up and efficient, and the slowing track too much to cope with. With some excellent catching also on offer, Delhi lost their way pretty quickly.
Warner flickers for Capitals
Even if it was the last game of a dismal season, Warner, the captain, found the motivation to overcome a sluggish start against the new ball to post his highest score of the campaign. Unfortunately for him, there was no support forthcoming at the other end and Delhi fell to another big home defeat.
The vastly experienced Warner did not let frustration get the better of him when Chahar and Deshpande tied him down. He worked his way among the top 10 run-scorers in IPL this season, and finished as one of the seven batters with 500 or more runs. It was some consolation for a season that went wrong for Delhi Capitals in more ways than one.
Future Tense?
With the side crashing to its ninth defeat in 14 games, it should surprise no one if there are some changes in the personnel – playing, coaching and support – when the team reassembles for the next season. They kept looking for Rishabh Pant’s galvanising presence in the squad, though they knew that it was all but impossible for him to be leave his rehabilitation and be around.
Admittedly, the side struggled to make the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Feroz Shah Kotla a fortress, what with the tracks rolled out not conducive to the strengths of the squad. A quiver full of stars in the dugout – Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson, Praveen Amre, Ajit Agarkar and James Hopes – found it tough to lift the players to perform to potential through the season.