DD rattle CSK by convincing six-wicket victory

Sudhir Gupta 12:24 13/05/2015
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  • The finisher: Delhi opener Shreyas Iyer hit 10 fours and six in his unbeaten 70 last night.

    Delhi Daredevils bowlers pulled a rabbit out of the hat and left Chennai Super Kings spellbound at Raipur last night.

    Led by the indefatigable Zaheer Khan (2-9), the Delhi attack gave no room to the Chennai batsmen on a sluggish pitch restricting them to a paltry 119-6 in 20 overs.

    Opener Shreyas Iyer then led the run charge with a superb 70 not out off 49 balls to extend the bowlers’ good work as Delhi coasted to a six-wicket win with 3.2 overs to spare.

    The victory ended Delhi’s four-match losing streak while Chennai’s hopes of finishing in the top two suffered a dent. With five other teams also battling for the top four spot, Chennai could be knocked from their perch. 

    The two-time champions now have to win their last league match on Saturday against bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab to be guaranteed of a top-two position.

    Chennai’s problems began at the start when openers – Dwayne Smith (18 off 24 balls) and Brendon McCullum (11 off 21 balls) – were tied down by left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and Khan.

    Nadeem, who bowled four overs at a stretch, conceded 18 runs as Chennai meandered to 16-1 in the first powerplay.

    It was the slowest display in the first six overs by any team in the tournament with Delhi bowling 27 dot balls.

    Faf du Plessis (29 off 23 balls) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  (27 off 24 balls) were the top run-getters for Chennai, who struggled throughout.

    Dhoni conceded the poor start led to their downfall.

    “We got off to a horrible start. We got under 20 in the first six and from there it was difficult,” he said.

    Delhi’s chase was not easy as opener Quinton de Kock (three) and captain Jean Paul Duminy (six) were back in the hut with just 24 runs on the board. 

    But the 20-year-old Iyer, who has been the leading run-getter for Delhi (419 runs), held fort in the company of senior pro Yuvraj Singh (32 of 28 balls) to seal the win.

    The duo paced the chase well raising 69 runs in 9.1 overs. While Iyer hit 10 fours and a six, Yuvraj struck four fours and one six.

    Chennai’s woes were complete when Mohit Sharma dropped a skier of Iyer, when he was on 32.

    Dhoni is keen on a top-two finish  and stressed that the game against Punjab is a must-win.

    “We have to be keep moving forward. We have to see how the wicket is in our last game. What’s important is to finish one or two in the table,” he said.

    A delighted Duminy believes the win augurs well for the next season.

    “It feels good,” he said. “I was telling the guys, we have played good cricket this season. 

    “We have one more game to go. We will be coming back strong next season. That was the best powerplay bowling performance I have seen.”

    Delhi, who have 10 points from 13 matches, will play their last league game on Sunday against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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