CSK inches closer to play-offs

CHENNAI: A well-drilled Chennai Super Kings inched closer to the Indian Premier League 2023 play-offs with a comfortable 27-run victory over Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chennai was behind the eight ball for the major part of the first innings, but raised the bar when it mattered most to pocket two points. After registering a competitive 167 for eight, thanks to a late charge worth 50 runs off the last five overs, Super Kings restricted Capitals to 140 for eight. The second-placed CSK now has 15 points in its kitty from 12 matches while bottom-dweller DC has eight points off 11 games and is all but out of the top-four reckoning.

Defending 167 in a bid to notch up its second successive win, Chennai was off to a dream start in the second essay via new-ball specialist Deepak Chahar (2/28 off 3 overs), who dismissed both the Delhi openers. While skipper David Warner was sent back for a second-ball duck, Phil Salt failed to capitalise on a quick-fire 17 (11 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes).

After Chahar set the base, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1/19 off 4 overs) and offie Moeen Ali (0/16 off 4 overs) stemmed the run flow to put the host in the driver’s seat. In-form slinger Matheesha Pathirana (3/37), introduced as the ‘Impact Player’ at the halfway stage, added three wickets to his IPL 2023 tally and closed out the match, never allowing the visitor to make a fightback at the death.

Rilee Rossouw (35) and Manish Pandey (27) added 59 runs at a not-so-great pace for the fourth-wicket stand, with Delhi unable to recover from the horror show in the first half of the powerplay – it was struggling at 25 for three in the fourth over.

In the first innings, the spin troika of Axar Patel (2/27 off 4 overs), Kuldeep Yadav (1/28 off 4 overs) and Lalit Yadav (1/34 off 3 overs) bossed the majority of the middle overs while medium pacer Mitchell Marsh (3/18 off 3 overs) ensured that Delhi did not miss the ‘leader of the pack’ Anrich Nortje and finished the job with aplomb.

Barring the 14th and 19th over, where the home team scored 23 and 21 runs respectively, the CSK fans had only a little to celebrate. Shivam Dube (25 off 12 balls, 3 sixes) and Ambati Rayudu (23 off 17 balls, 1 four, 1 six) broke the shackles in the 14th over, sent down by Lalit, as the left-right duo combined for three maximums and a four.

MS Dhoni (20 off 9 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes), walking out to the middle with 22 legal deliveries remaining, guided Super Kings to a challenging total by smacking left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed for two sixes and a four in the penultimate over.

Khaleel (1/32 off 4 overs) had a good night despite the onslaught from Dhoni, courtesy of his terrific first spell and an excellent 17th over. Left-arm spinner Axar had removed openers Devon Conway (10) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (24), off the first ball in his first and second over respectively, to help DC seize control early on.

BRIEF SCORES: Chennai Super Kings 167/8 in 20 overs (S Dube 25, Ruturaj 24, M Marsh 3/18, Axar 2/27) bt Delhi Capitals 140/8 in 20 overs (R Rossouw 35, M Pathirana 3/37, D Chahar 2/28)