CSK crush Capitals, inch closer towards play-offs

Press Trust Of India

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni punished Khaleel Ahmed and then marshalled his bowling resources to perfection as Chennai Super Kings comprehensively beat Delhi Capitals by 27 runs to take a giant stride towards IPL play-off, here on Wednesday.  

The talismanic skipper’s couple of monstrous sixes in his 9-ball-20 did help CSK get to 167 for 8, which was at least 20 runs above-par on a tacky Chepauk track. The total was just what Dhoni needed to marshall his bowlers as Delhi Capitals were never in hunt after their batting mainstays David Warner (0), Phil Salt (17) and Mitch Marsh (5) were out by the start of the fourth over.  

In the end, DC managed only 140 for 8 and their struggles were real as not even 10 fours were hit in the entire innings. The DC batters managed only seven boundaries and four overboundaries. The win took CSK to 15 points and one win from two remaining games will certainly seal their place in the last four. As far as DC’s campaign is concerned, it is almost curtains with 8 points from 11 games with seven defeats.

Before one points fingers at head coach Ricky Ponting and Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly, there would some of the talent scouts, who should be held accountable for presenting the team with options who are incapable of being xfactors even at the domestic level. A former India player’s son, who is one of the talent scouts, will have a lot of answering to do.

The Indian batters like Manish Pandey, Ripal Patel, Lalit Yadav or Aman Khan aren’t good enough to ace easy chases on their own leave alone getting better of tough targets like this one on the day. The two veterans Ravindra Jadeja (1/19 in 4 overs) and Moeen Ali (0/16 in 4 overs) tightened the noose around the DC batters in the middle overs when Pandey and Rillee Rossouw added 59 at less than run-aball.

Pandey, especially after running Marsh out could have done better but in his 16 seasons of IPL, he hasn’t even won 10 games for all the franchises that he played. Matheesha Pathirana (3/37 in 4 overs) nailed his yorker perfectly to send the former India player packing.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 167 for 8 in 20 Overs (Shivam Dube 25; Mitchell Marsh 3/18, Axar Patel 2/27). Delhi Capitals 140 for 8 in 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 35; Matheesha Pathirana 3/37).