New Delhi: With the help of three wickets from Deepak Chahar after the century partnership of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chennai Super Kings qualified for the playoffs by defeating Delhi Capitals by 77 runs in their last league match of IPL on Saturday. Amid speculations of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last IPL, his fans heaved a sigh of relief that they would now be able to see him play in the playoffs as well.
Chennai is currently second behind Gujarat Titans with 17 points from 14 matches. Lucknow Super Giants have 15 points from 13 matches and if they beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the next match, they will also have 17 points. In such a situation, the second-place team will be decided on the basis of net run rate, which is currently much better than Chennai.
Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first, which was proved right by his openers. With the help of 141 runs in 87 balls for the first wicket between Gaikwad and Conway, Chennai Super Kings scored 223 runs for three wickets. In response, the Delhi team could only manage 146 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs. Only captain David Warner could play for him, who scored 86 runs in 58 balls with the help of seven fours and five sixes.
Chahar took three wickets for 22 runs in four overs for Chennai. Already out of the race for the playoffs, Delhi Capitals’ campaign ended with a disappointing defeat. A large number of yellow jersey-clad spectators thronged the ground to watch Dhoni play and it seemed that it was not Delhi’s home ground but Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
Despite the afternoon match and the heat, there was no dearth of enthusiasm from the spectators and the stadium erupted in noise with every shot from the Chennai batsmen. Dhoni also did not disappoint his fans as he came out to bat at number four despite being dropped down the order this season. Conway and Gaikwad did not spare any Delhi bowler and started the process of scoring runs from the very first over. Gaikwad was dismissed for 79 off 50 balls with the help of three fours and seven sixes, while Conway scored 87 off 52 balls which included 11 fours and three sixes.
Delhi’s innings started badly and their impact player Prithvi Shaw was dismissed by Tushar Deshpande in the very second over. Battling with bad form, Sau could score only five runs, and his brilliant catch was caught by Ambati Rayudu with a dive. In the fifth over, Warner hit Deepak Chahar for a six and a four but was dismissed by Phil Salt (three) on the fourth ball and Riley Rossouw (0) on the next ball. Yash Dhull, however, did not let him take the hat trick. Dhul returned after scoring 13 runs by giving a catch to Deshpande off Jadeja’s ball. Warner tried to keep Delhi’s hopes alive by handling one end.
He hit Jadeja for two sixes and a four in the 13th over, while Akshar Patel also hit a six to take the total to 23 runs in the over. In the next over, Chahar made Akshar his third victim who was caught by Gaikwad in an attempt to play a high shot. By now the writing on the wall was clear for Delhi’s defeat as they needed 115 off 39 balls. Mahish Pathirana ended Warner’s innings in the 19th over.
Earlier, in the second over of Chennai’s innings, Gaikwad hit Lalit Yadav for a four and Conway took 13 runs by hitting a six. Veteran spinner Akshar Patel was welcomed by Gaikwad with a six in the fourth over. Chetan Sakaria, however, conceded just two runs in the sixth over and Chennai was 52 for no loss in six overs of the powerplay. Chennai’s hundred was scored in 68 balls and Gaikwad touched the figure in the 12th over by hitting Kuldeep Yadav for three consecutive sixes. 20 runs were scored in this over.
Khaleel Ahmed returned to bowl in the 14th over and Conway hit him for a six over deep midwicket to bring up his half-century. He also hit a four on the next ball. In the next over, Sakariya broke the partnership by getting Gaikwad caught by Riley Rossouw. New batsman Shivam Dubey hit Lalit Yadav for the first six in the 16th over and the next two balls were wides. After this, 19 runs were scored in this over with fours.
The 50-run partnership between Dubey and Conway was completed in just 17 balls. Dubey hit Khaleel for two sixes in the 18th over but got out by giving a catch to Lalit Yadav. He scored 22 runs in nine balls. On the huge demand of the audience, Dhoni got down to bat at number four. Meanwhile, Conway was caught by Enrich Norkia at the hands of Aman Hakim Khan. Dhoni scored an unbeaten five in four balls and Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 20 in seven balls.
