IPL 2019, DC vs CSK: Bravo, Watson lead CSK to convincing win against Delhi
MS Dhoni walked out, and the skipper took his time to get going, but then sealed the chase with a calm finish along with Kedar Jadhav.
Chennai Super Kings continued their march with another convincing win, this time taking down Delhi Capitals on their home turf, on a pitch which was sluggish, slow, and lacking any bounce. ((Full Scorecard))
Shikhar Dhawan held the innings together for Delhi with a laboured 50, but the final five overs proved to be the difference between the sides in the end. Dwayne Bravo, who has now been entrusted with the death overs, was at his best and his 3-wicket haul sucked out all the momentum as Delhi crawled to only 39 runs in the six overs.
“It’s a bit two-paced, and the change of pace is very important on this wicket. Small totals like this are tricky and the powerplay will be a crucial period for us. They have a good bowling attack, but if we bat well, we will win. It’s tough bowling four overs in the end, but I’m ready to bowl wherever the skipper asks me to. Whenever I am called upon to bat, bowl or field, I am ready. I love cricket. We would take this total, but it’ll be tricky if we lose early wickets. If we bat smart we will win this,” Bravo said in the mid-innings break.
A total of 147 on the pitch could well have been par on the surface but Shane Watson was fired up. He exchanged words with Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada and then took the game by the scruff of the neck to race to 44 off 26 balls to break the back of the chase early within the Powerplay overs.
Suresh Raina was aggressive against the spinners, and his innings of 30 in 16 balls never allowed the Capitals to have any say in the chase. Well, the crowd was at its vociferous best when MS Dhoni walked out, and the skipper took his time to get going, but then sealed the chase with a calm finish along with Kedar Jadhav.
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Shreyas Iyer conceded that his side was short by 10-15 runs, but they will take all the positives out of the game.
“For the new batsman, pitch was really tough. I usually don’t have trouble starting against spinners but today it was turning and holding up. Our best batter Rishabh Pant also found it tough. The wicket was slow and that’s why I decided to bat first. We were 10-15 runs short. I wouldn’t blame the batting. We could have restricted them in the powerplay. There are a lot of games remaining and this is just the beginning. Lots of positive to take out from this match,” the captain said after the match.
MS Dhoni said that he did not expect the pitch to turn in the first innings and believed that the dew in the second innings helped his batsmen to chase down the total on the pitch.
“The wicket turned more than expected in the firt innings. In the second innings there was enough dew. The bowlers did well to restrict them to 150. The batsmen we have like a bit of pace, and like it to come on to the bat. Happy with the way our going, but areas to work on as we progress,” Dhoni said in the post-match presser.