Gaikwad, Conway fifties set up CSK win, IPL playoff entry

MS Dhoni’s side crushed bottom team Delhi Capitals by 77 runs on their home turf to seal a playoff berth

MS Dhoni’s legion of fans can rest easy. He will be heading back to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the IPL playoffs. That was ensured by Chennai Super Kings at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday after battering Delhi Capitals by 77 runs in their final league game.

IPL 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway in action for CSK. (PTI)

There’s been intense speculation about this year’s IPL being the 41-year-old’s last as a player – he remains typically guarded – but what’s certain is that the CSK skipper isn’t done for this season.

A sea of canary yellow engulfed the stands as fans turned up in large numbers to watch Dhoni lead CSK possibly for the final time in Delhi. They weren’t disappointed as CSK rode imperious fifties by openers Devon Conway (87 - 52b, 11x4, 3x6) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (79 - 50b, 3x4, 7x6) to amass 223/3. The response by Delhi wasn’t up to scratch, finishing on 146/9 for a forgettable end to a forgettable campaign. Skipper David Warner hit a 58-ball 86, but at no stage was it going to alter the outcome of the game.

The base for CSK’s victory was set by Gaikwad and Conway’s 141-run partnership after Dhoni elected to bat. Perhaps expecting the surface to offer a hint of spin, Warner brought on off-spinner Lalit Yadav in the second over. Gaikwad was quick to punish a short delivery for four by piercing the gap between long on and deep midwicket while Conway stepped out to deposit a full delivery over the bowler’s head for six.

The introduction of Axar Patel in the fourth over didn’t pay dividends for Delhi either. Gaikwad’s first six of the innings came against the left-arm spinner and was perhaps the best of the lot. While the ball was in the slot, he did no more than caress it over the extra cover boundary.

The swift beginning meant they raised a fifty-run stand in just 4.4 overs. Delhi seemed to pull things back when they conceded just 20 runs in the three overs after the powerplay, but the respite for their bowlers was momentary. Gaikwad broke free by hammering Patel for two consecutive sixes in the tenth over. The deliveries were short, giving the batter all the time in the world to send them soaring over the midwicket boundary. Gaikwad’s half-century took 37 deliveries.

In the 12th over, it was Kuldeep Yadav’s turn to face Gaikwad’s pounding. The left-arm wrist-spinner was punished for three sixes in a row as Gaikwad cleared the long-off and long-on boundaries before going over the sightscreen. They also brought up their 100-run partnership off 68 balls in that over.

That left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya, with an economy of nine, was the least expensive of the Delhi bowlers aptly reflected their performance. Sakariya was also the first to strike, getting Gaikwad to miscue a pull to deep square leg. With CSK on 141/1 in 14.3 overs at that stage though, wickets weren’t going to weigh down their batters. Conway took charge after Gaikwad’s dismissal while Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja came up with flashy cameos. Dhoni, welcomed by a deafening roar, finished five not out off four balls.

Delhi’s evening went from bad to worse when they were reduced to 26/3 – Prithvi Shaw, Phil Salt and Rilee Rossouw were the ones dismissed – in five overs. Contrary to the first innings when the CSK batters played through the line without any trouble, the ball suddenly seemed to be stopping on the surface.

Rossouw inside-edged a back-of-a-length delivery by Deepak Chahar (3/22) on to the stumps immediately after Salt was caught at cover while trying to clear the infield. In Salt’s case, Chahar was shrewd to take the pace off.

It was then left to Warner to lend a degree of respectability to the run chase. He’s not always found his rhythm this season, but in the circumstances, he couldn’t have done much better. That perhaps can’t be said of the other Delhi batters.

Brief scores: CSK 223/3 (R Gaikwad 79, D Conway 87, S Dube 22, K Ahmed 1/45, A Nortje 1/43); DC 146/9 (D Warner 86, D Chahar 3/22, M Theekshana 2/23, M Pathirana 2/22). CSK won by 77 runs