DC vs CSK Highlights, IPL 2023: CSK beat DC by 77 runs to seal play-offs berth

Khaleel Ahmed is back into the attack and he is welcomed by Devon Conway with a maximum, which also brings up his half-century in 33 balls. 

The batter then hits the seamer for another boundary later in the over as 13 runs come off it. CSK: 140/0 (14 overs)

Anrich Nortje is re-introduced in the attack and he does a decent job until the fifth ball, which results in four singles. 

The final delivery is short, going down leg and Gaikwad pulls it for a maximum. CSK: 127/0 (13 overs)

This is carnage by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hits Kuldeep Yadav for a hattrick of SIXES. 20 runs come off the over as CSK reach 117/0 in 12 overs.

Devon Conway hits Chetan Sakariya with back-to-back boundaries as 10 runs come off the over. CSK: 97/0 (11 overs)

Back-to-back SIXES by Ruturaj Gaikwad against Axar Patel. Both the maximums come off short deliveries, which is easily cleared by the batter over the mid-wicket fence. 

Bowler changes side and Gaikwad takes a single to complete his half-century, which comes in 37 balls. CSK: 87/0 (10 overs)

Axar Patel comes to bowl the next over as six runs come off it. 

Kuldeep Yadav continues from his end and spinners are slowly getting in the match. He delivers a googly against Gaikwad, who tries to play it on the on-side but the ball takes and edge and flies towards cover. Lucky for the batter as the ball drops just beyond Warner at short cover. Six runs come off the over. CSK: 72/0 (9 overs)

Kuldeep Yadav is introduced in the attack and he is welcomed with a single by Conway, following which Gaikwad smashes the spinner for a four. 

Eight runs come off the over. CSK: 60/0 (7 overs)

Chetan Sakariya comes to bowl the final powerplay over and he does a decent job. He does a decent job and just two singles come off it. CSK: 52/0 (6 overs)

Warner is using all his bowlers one by one as he gets Anrich Nortje in attack. He starts with a dot against Gaikwad, who gets Conway on the strike in the next ball. 

The Kiwi batter then hits consecutive fours against the Proteas speedster. The first one is played behind the square leg region as Nortje bowls it at length, the second one is full, which is nicely driven towards the long-off fence. CSK: 50/5 (5 overs) 

After an expensive start by Lalit, Warner brings Axar Patel from his end, who concedes five singles and is hit for a maximum by Conway. CSK: 41/0 (4 overs) 

Khaleel Ahmed continues from his end and he starts with a single against Conway.

The pacer beats Gaikwad in the next delivery. Good delivery and could have taken an edge on its way, the keeper and the bowler feel the same. The pacer then deviates from his line and ends up bowling a wide, before Gaikwad rotates the strike. 

Conway then wraps the over with a couple of boundaries. The first one is flicked towards mid-wicket, while the second is slashed towards the third man region. CSK: 30/0 (3 overs)

David Warner introduces spin as Lalit Yadav joins the attack from the other end. He starts against Devon Conway with a single, with shouts of catch it but no real threat.

Gaikwad smashes the spinner for a boundary in the next ball, found the gap wide of long-on region and then passed the strike to Conway in the next ball.

Conway then steps down the track and hits it straight as the ball sails into the sightscreen for a maximum. 

13 runs come off the over as CSK reach 19/0 in 2 overs.

Khaleel Ahmed keeps things tidy in the first over as a couple of singles come from the first four balls, before the pacer drops it at length, coming at Gaikwad's waist, who then guides it gently towards the square leg fence. CSK: 6/0 (1 over)

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway walkout to kick-off the proceedings. Khaleel Ahmed leads the attack for Delhi Capitals.

CSK: Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Subranshu Senapathi, Shaik Rasheed and Akash Singh

DC: Mukesh Kumar, Prithvi Shaw, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel and Abhishek Porel

Delhi Capitals: David Warner(c), Philip Salt(w), Rilee Rossouw, Yash Dhull, Aman Hakim Khan, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Anrich Nortje

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni wins toss, opts to bat against Delhi Capitals.

If we look at the head-to-head record between the two, Delhi Capitals have won 10 times, while Chennai Super Kings have finished victorious on 18 occasions. 

“62m square boundaries on both sides and a 74m straight boundary today. This pitch was watered a few hours ago, some grass cutting was put and was nicely rolled, the ground staff were worried about this pitch becoming very dry. It still looks dry, it's extremely hot at 41 degrees celsius. You'll have to bat first on this surface, there are some flaky cracks which could open up as the game progresses which will make the wicket slower and lower, and offer more turn. Batting will get difficult as the game wears on”

David Warner is the leading run-scorer for Delhi Capitals and will hope to finish the season on a strong note. 

Mitchell Marsh too has been provided DC with decent performances on both front and he could well return to the XI in place on Anrich Nortje, given the nature of the pitch. 

Phil Salt and Rilee Rossouw will look to showcase their batting prowess in the final encounter for their side.

If we look at Delhi's batting line-up, barring Axar Patel most of them have struggled, with Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, and Manish Pandey being the biggest letdown.

Shaw was also dropped from the team after a string of underwhelming performances, however, the opener made a good comeback in the previous tie and scored his maiden half-century of the season.

Delhi Capitals head into the contest on the back of their first 200-plus scores and a morale boosting 15-run win over Punjab Kings.

However, it should be difficult for Delhi to breach the 200-run mark in the slow tracks of Arun Jaitley Stadium, especially with overseas talent leading the charge with the bat.

However, standing in CSK's way is an unpredictable Delhi unit, who have made a good comeback after a slow start to the tournament.

Capitals lost five matches on the trot, but won five of their next eight games.

They will now look to finish the tournament on a strong note.

If we look at CSK's bowling front, they have Tushar Deshpande, who has been among the wickets but has been slightly expensive. Young Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana has done a good job.

The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Maheesh Theekshana have kept things under control and will play a key role in the slow tracks of Delhi.

CSK's biggest strength has been their batting. Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane have been successful at the top but it is the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, who need to enhance their scoring rate to complement Shivam Dube better in the middle overs.

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has managed a couple of cameos towards the end and the CSK skipper is likely to do the same despite calls of him coming up order.