New Delhi: Dwayne Bravo (3/33) and Shane Watson (44, 26b, 4×4, 3×6) helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) script their second successive win in the ongoing Indian Premier League as the MS Dhoni-led side defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets here, Tuesday.
However it was Bravo who was the main hero as his spell changed the game completely in favour of the visitors, starting with the wicket of dangerous-looking Rishabh Pant, before the West Indian finished off the game with a boundary off Kagiso Rabada to take his team home with two balls to spare. Dhoni (32 n o, 35b, 2×4, 1×6), Kedar Jadhav (27, 34b, 2×4) and Suresh Raina (30, 16b, 4×4, 1×6) played handy knocks for the visitors.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan (51, 47b, 7×4) scored a painstaking half-century on a lifeless Kotla track to take his team to a sub-par 147/6 after a sudden middle-order collapse which saw hosts Delhi at least 30 runs short of a fighting score.
From a comfortable 120/2 with the dangerous Pant (25) at the crease, CSK seized the momentum, effecting a middle-order collapse. Capitals lost four wickets for seven runs in just 1.5 overs. From 118/2 after 15 overs, the last five overs yielded only 29 runs.
With the ball stopping and coming, Capitals batsmen found Bravo’s variations difficult to handle. Ravindra Jadeja (1/23) also made life difficult for the Capitals in the middle overs and Harbhajan Singh (0/30) also bowled as many as 10 dot balls.
Dhawan, however, continued to hold one end up with stroke making became increasingly difficult. Pant tried to negate the pitch factor but did not last till the death overs. His short arm pull off Dwayne Bravo was taken by Shardul Thakur (0/19) at deep square leg boundary.
With Colin Ingram (two) and Keemo Paul (zero) also being dismissed cheaply, followed by Dhawan, the expectations of a 175-plus total withered away.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 147/6 (Shikhar Dhawan 51; Dwayne Bravo 3/33) lost to Chennai Super Kings (Shane Watson 44, MS Dhoni 32 n o) by 6 wickets.
