Picture : IPL/ X
Delhi Capitals once again came out with a fine all- round performance as they outclassed a rather listless Chennai Super Kings by 25 runs in a Tata IPL 2025 encounter on hot sultry day in Chennai.
Earlier DC Skipper Axar Patel won the toss and opted to bat first . DC got off to a shaky start losing opener Jake Fraser-McGurk early for ( 0). K L Rahul was back as opener for DC.
Abhishek Porel showed great intent from the start and played some stunning shots to put DC back with 33 ( 20 balls , 4 fours, 1 six). DC Skipper Axar Patel was out after scoring (21). Talented Sameer Rizvi scored ( 20 ).
Opening the innings K L Rahul anchored the DC innings superbly and played till the last over but not after scoring a match- winning 77 ( 51 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes) . Ashutosh Sharma was run-out ( 1). Tristan Stubbs hit some big shots towards the end and remained not out 24( 12 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) , Vipraj Nigam not out 1. DC finishing at 183/ 6 in their 20 overs.
CSK bowling : Khaleel Ahmed 2/ 25 ( 4 overs), Mukesh Choudhary 0/ 50 ( 4 overs) Ravichandran Ashwin 0/ 21 ( 3 overs) , Ravindra Jadeja 1/ 19 ( 2 overs) , Noor Ahmad 1/ 36 ( 3 overs) , Matheesha Pathirana 1/ 31 ( 4 overs)
In reply chasing 184 to win, CSK who had been struggling with their batting form saw opener Rachin Ravindra out early for 3. Back in the opening slot Devon Conway struggled and was out for ( 13), CSK Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad fell for just ( 5) . CSK batting were in tatters. 41/ 3 in 5. 3 overs.
Vijay Shankar survived some anxious moments and hung on as wickets fell at the other end . Shivam Dube ( 18) , Ravindra Jadeja ( 2) . Shankar played a lone hand and remained unbeaten on 69 ( 54 balls, 5 fours, 1 six). Crowd favourite Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave fans some nostalgic moments and remained unbeaten at 30 ( 26 balls , 1 four, 1 six) but the MSD of the old who would take the innings deep for win was missing.
CSK finally fell short by 25 runs reaching 158/ 5 in their 20 overs . The batting intent was not there at all . It will be uphill task to lift the side from the slide it is in. DC skipper Axar Patel rotated his bowlers well and field placements were spot on.
DC bowling : Mitchell Starc 1/ 27 ( 4 overs) , Mukesh Kumar 1/ 36 ( 4 overs) , Mohit Sharma 0/ 27 ( 3 overs) , Vipraj Nigam 2/ 27 ( 4 overs) , Kuldeep Yadav 1/ 30 ( 4 overs) , Axar Patel 0/ 5 ( 1 over)
Match: IPL 2025, 17th Match
Venue: Chennai | Date: April 05, 2025
