DC cruise past CSK to start their campaign in style

“We are not playing at Delhi (Delhi Capitals’ home venue) so it is an advantage for us to be playing at better wickets”, said Rishabh Pant at the toss. 

Delhi Capitals are arguably the only side who have separation from home grounds working in their favor. Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, were expected to be the most affected team due to these adjustments. Tonight’s game underlined this difference as DC, despite the absence of many of their core players, thumped CSK by seven wickets, thus kicking off their 2021 campaign in style. 

The Dhaw-Shaw show

The contrast was evident in the way Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan started DC’s run chase. Shaw overcame his demons of the previous season as well as winning the contest against his arch-nemesis, Deepak Chahar. No other bowler has got Shaw out more than Chahar in the IPL. Tonight, Shaw, instilled with confidence after a stellar domestic season, welcomed Chahar with a boundary and it was one way traffic in DC’s favor afterwards. 

Dhawan, joined in the fun soon, caressing Chahar through point for a boundary two balls later and the two piled on CSK’s misery shot by shot in the Powerplay. Shaw played a short arm jab over mid-on for six while Dhawan executed a lofted straight drive for the same in what can be termed as the shot of the match. 

A 17-run fifth over from Shardul Thakur dropped CSK’s chances of a win from 50 to 33 percent according to Criclytics. DC were 65 for no loss in the Powerplay and remained untouched till shaw and Dhawan had put on 138 runs for the first wicket. The spinners were employed soon but on an unresponsive track for tweakers, CSK appeared clueless to make inroads. 

The failure to convert half chances also did not help CSK. Shaw got two reprieves on his way to a 38-ball 72. Dhawan carried until the asking rate was pulled down to 6 in his masterful knock of 85 from 54 balls. 

A contrasting Powerplay for CSK

While DC took full toll of the field restrictions, CSK were pushed back in their turn with the bat. Avesh Khan, selected ahead of experienced pros like Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, vindicated his place straightaway by removing Faf du Plessis in his first over - second of the innings. 

In the next over, Chris Woakes got rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad. In the first over, Gaikwad carved Chris Woakes through the covers for a gorgeous boundary. The Englishman, struck back by pushing his length back in the next over which induced an outside edge. 

Losing both openers early, CSK managed only 33 runs from their Powerplay, thus losing a massive run-scoring opportunity. 

Stop-start phase

Realizing they are behind in their quest for the par-score, CSK showed clear intent to neutralize the spinners. Ravi Ashwin was deposited for consecutive boundaries in each of his three overs. Amit Mishra, after two economical overs, was taken apart by Suresh Raina for two maximums. The inclusion of Raina and Moeen Ali was a breath of fresh air for CSK’s batting approach in the middle-overs. 

Moeen’s departure for a 24-ball 36 could have been a setback but Raina carried on in his vintage style to amass a fifty on his return. Completing his fifty from 32 balls, Raina was set to tee off further when a calamitous run out cut short his innings. 

Ravindra Jadeja and Raina seemed set to take 2 off the first ball of the 16th over when Jadeja collided with Avesh while turning for the second run. He had to change his call but it was too late for Raina to return. 

Two balls later, Avesh removed MS Dhoni as the stop-start nature of CSK’s innings continued. Avesh’s second spell of one for 12 was at the helm of derailing CSK’s progress. 

Curran’s cameo to the rescue

There was no brotherly love from Sam Curran towards his elder brother. The left-hander tonked Tom Curran for 17 runs in the 19th over - 23 runs from the over in total. Tom appeared flustered, bowling a full toss, innocuous short ball and a half volley, all of which were dealt in boundaries by Sam. 

Curran’s 15-ball 34 was the much needed impetus to CSK’s innings. He added 51 runs with Jadeja for the seventh wicket, elevating CSK to 188. However, a conflation of the Wankhede track, the dynamics of their bowling attack and the form of DC openers, it was only a par score which was razed down with eight balls to spare.