Asia

IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals lost to Chennai Super Kings by 91 runs, playoff chances take a hit

May 9, 2022
Henry Club

David Warner glared at Nitin Menon as he walked past him, livid that the umpire’s call didn’t go his way. Maheesh Theekshana’s leg-before appeal was very confident and the DRS showed that Menon was right. Delhi Capitals desperately needed two points from this game to keep their playoffs hopes alive and against Chennai Super Kings’ 208/6, Warner was the team’s best bet. The batsman’s anger captured the frustration of a failed reverse sweep attempt.

In the end, DC folded up for 117 to lose by 91 runs, a serious blow for them with just three group matches remaining. For CSK, they will take this win and hope against hope.

Connoisseur’s cricket

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway batting in a partnership is connoisseur’s cricket. CSK missed a trick by not allowing the partnership to bed in during the early phase of the tournament. Conway was given a game upfront before being dropped. Belatedly, when he was brought back to the fold, he instantly got into the groove and added meat to the CSK top-order in conjunction with Gaikwad.

This has been an underwhelming season for the four-time champions. But a successful franchise like CSK will deal with one bad year. The Conway-Gaikwad opening combination offers hope for the future. They score runs playing orthodox cricket. Conway, an established Test batsman for New Zealand, has every shot in the book. Also, he is excellent against spin. Gaikwad, who has a future India Test batsman written all over him, revels in the bucketload of time against pace, which speaks volumes for his quality. And when they press the accelerator in the shortest format without compromising on their batting principles, cricket becomes very enjoyable.

CSK by and large have failed to make the Powerplays count this term, which also muddled their middle-overs batting. Today, they raced to 57 for no loss after six overs. The release shot came from Gaikwad in the third over against Anrich Nortje, when the batsman danced down the track and treated the tearaway quick like a spinner. Gaikwad’s balance, head position, the straightness of the bat – everything was copybook. The ball sailed over the long-on boundary for a six. Another shot against Shardul Thakur deserves special mention – a hard length delivery was played on the up and through cover-point for a four. Gaikwad had a slow start to the season. But now he has regained his touch and from that perspective, he would rue his dismissals in the 30s and 40s. A Nortje bouncer got the better of him. It was a 152.6kph delivery all right, but a well-set Gaikwad, batting on 41 off 33 balls, was expected to neutral it.

Conway made light work of Kuldeep Yadav. He used his feet to hit a six off a length ball before sweeping the next one to clear the deep square leg boundary. When a batsman is using his feet and at the same time, sweeping with aplomb, it becomes very difficult for the bowler. Before taking Kuldeep to the cleaners, Conway had accounted for back-to-back sixes against Axar Patel, The two openers complemented each other; Conway taking on spin and Gaikwad attacking the fast bowlers. Their 110-run partnership came in 11 overs. They now have two 100-plus associations in three games. Conway departed for a 49-ball 87. Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni’s cameos ensured that CSK would cross the 200-run mark.

Nortje was DC’s most successful bowler with 3/42, including the wickets of Moeen Ali and Robin Uthappa in successful deliveries in the final over. Khaleel Ahmed was the most economical, 2/28. Kuldeep conceded 43 runs in his three overs.

Bowling star turn

Rishabh Pant‘s response to Warner’s dismissal was spectacular. He hit Theekshana for three consecutive fours, the first one being a falling lofted straight drive. The DC captain and Mitchell Marsh were going great guns until Moeen intervened.

Marsh was his first victim, a mistimed slog-sweep finding Gaikwad at long-on. Pant was done in by a skidder, the batsman chopping it onto the stumps. Three balls later, Ripal Patel was beaten in the sir and was holed out to deep mid-wicket. Moeen’s figures after two overs read: 2-0-9-3. DC slumped to 81/5 and soon they were 85/7 after Rovman Powell’s dismissal. The game was done and dusted.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings (Devon Conway 87, Ruturaj Gaikwad 41, Shivam Dube 32, MS Dhoni 21 not out; Anrich Nortje 3/42) bt Delhi Capitals 117 all out in 17.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 25; Moeen Ali 3/13) by 91 runs

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