Delhi Daredevils (DD) produced an authoritative performance in the Indian Premier League in Raipur to defeat table toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets. It is a win that came a bit too late. DD is already out of the playoffs race. What the win really achieved was making the qualification a bit more difficult for CSK.
MS Dhoni won the toss and as always won the toss. But when the action unfolded, something unusual happened. Zaheer Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem bowled exceptional first spells. They achieved something that most bowlers in the world would not even dream of: that of containing Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. The six overs of power play produced just 16 runs. And McCullum got out in the final ball of the power play.
There was no let up for the Chennai side even after power play. The DD bowlers managed to keep a tight leash on scoring. None of the Chennai batsmen appeared comfortable on this pitch. The explosive flourish that CSK was looking for never arrived. The whole innings witnessed just 10 fours and two sixes. A David Warner or an AB de Villiers hits more boundary shots in a single innings. Chennai Super Kings eventually crawled to 119 for six.
Delhi Daredevils faced no difficulties in chasing the total. Shreyas Iyer played a smart innings of sensible hitting. He scored an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls. Even he hit 10 fours and a six – to put CSK’s boundary hitting into perspective. His 69-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh for the third wicket virtually settled the chase for Daredevils. DD reached the target with 20 balls to spare.
Zaheer Khan, who finished with figures of two for nine in four overs, is the man of the match.
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