DC vs CSK highlights: Delhi Capitals (DC), on Sunday (March 31), beat Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs to open their account in IPL 2024. Chasing 192 for their third straight win, CSK finished on 171 for 6.
CSK’s chase started on a poor note as both of their in-form openers departed cheaply. Khaleel Ahmed dismissed CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for 1 in the first over before sending back Rachin Ravindra for 2 in the third over to reduce CSK to 7 for 2.
Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell steadied the ship but could not score at a good rate. At the end of the powerplay, CSK were on 32 for 2. The run-rate did not show much improvement after the powerplay as well before Mitchell broke the shackles by hitting a six in the 9th over. In the tenth over, he as well as Rahane hit a six each to help CSK reach 75 for 2.
Just when it looked like the duo would accelerate, Axar Patel dismissed Mitchell in the 11th over to reduce CSK to 75 for 3. In the 14th over, Mukesh Kumar dismissed Rahane and Sameer Rizvi on consecutive deliveries to put DC in the driver’s seat.
At the end of the 15th over, CSK were on 113 for 5, needing 79 more runs in the final five. With Shivam Dube being dismissed on the first ball of the 17th over, CSK further drifted away from the win. MS Dhoni came out to bat for the first time in IPL 2024 and played some big shots but it was just too late even for him to take CSK over the line.
DC vs CSK: DC innings
Earlier in the game, half-centuries from David Warner and captain Rishabh Pant propelled DC to a big total of 191/5 in the allotted 20 overs.
Warner and Prithvi Shaw justified their team’s decision to bat first by adding 93 runs for the opening wicket. Both the openers started cautiously as DC managed 24 runs in the first four overs. In the fifth over, Warner hit Deepak Chahar for a six and two fours to break the shackles. In the final over of the powerplay, Shaw hit Mustafizur Rahman for three fours while Warner added one more to help DC race away to 62 for no loss.
In the 9th over, Warner completed his 62nd IPL fifty off 32 balls. Mustafizur Rahman broke the stand in the tenth over by dismissing Warner for 52. Ten runs later, Ravindra Jadeja had Shaw caught behind for 43. After the twin dismissals, DC’s innings slowed down and the further dismissals of Mitchell Marsh (18) and Tristan Stubbs (0) only made things tough.
At the end of the 17th over, DC were on 148 for 4 and not many were expecting them to touch the 190-run mark. However, Pant, who was batting on 23 off 23 at that stage, shifted gears to give the innings some much-needed impetus. In the next two overs, he hit two sixes and three fours to complete his fifty before being dismissed for 51. In the last three overs, DC scored 43 runs to end on 191.
DC vs CSK: Scorecard:
