Delhi Daredevils 162 for 5 (Pant 38, Harshal 36*, Shankar 36*, Ngidi 2-14) beat Chennai Super Kings 128 for 6 (Rayudu 50, Jadeja 27*, Mishra 2-20) by 34 runs
(ESPNcricinfo)-Sandeep Lamichhane was born in the same year Amit Mishra made his first-class debut. Eighteen years on, both legspinners with immeasurable skills and sky-high confidence levels were at the forefront of a superb Delhi Daredevils win that meant Chennai Super Kings are not yet assured of a top-two finish. The pair finished with 3 for 41 off eight overs to tie CSK down after Ambati Rayudu’s 29-ball 50 put them ahead at the halfway mark of the chase.
The reply boiled down to MS Dhoni, with CSK needing 58 off 24. On a sluggish surface, this proved a little too steep. Earlier in the evening, Harshal Patel clubbed four sixes and took 26 off Dwayne Bravo’s final over and that gave Delhi Daredevils 162. That proved to be pivotal.
Shaw runs out of luck
Prithvi Shaw isn’t a biffer, but can take the attack to the bowlers by trusting his instincts and hitting through the line. On a Feroz Shah Kotla deck with more bounce than usual, he was denied this luxury early on by Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ndigi. So, he became a little adventurous, and the move backfired.
Shaw’s innings included a leading edge on the bounce to third man, two miscued slog sweeps that just eluded the backtracking midwicket fielder and a reprieve at mid-on by Shardul Thakur, all in Ravindra Jadeja’s first over, the fourth of the innings. But Chahar triumphed eventually when he had Shaw toe-ending a cross-batted heave to Shardul Thakur at long-on. Daredevils: 24 for 1 in the fifth over.
Ngidi gets Pant, again
Twice this season, Rishabh Pant has sold the dummy to his captain. Here, he was nearly undone by Shreyas Iyer, but for Chahar’s underarm throw from mid-on missing the stumps at the bowler’s end in the fifth over. All this played out even as Iyer struggled for timing: his control percentage against three of the five bowlers he faced was less than 66.
To offset Iyer’s struggle, Pant launched into Harbhajan Singh in the ninth over, hitting two sixes and a slashed cut for four as Daredevils pocketed 17 to move to 77 for 1 in 10 overs. The platform was set, only for it to come crashing down as Ndigi’s double-strike set them back in the 11th over.
Iyer fell first, bowled backing away to cut a delivery that cramped him for room. Off the next ball, Pant’s ugly across-the-line hoick to one he was forced to reach out for resulted in a slice to third man. When Glenn Maxwell was out bowled, attempting a reverse sweep to a full Jadeja dart, Daredevils were in trouble at 94 for 4.
Bravo’s death execution comes apart
Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel at No. 5 and No. 7 respectively may have been a tad too high. They chose to disprove that notion with a stunning late assault that yielded 65 off just 32 balls. The destroyer was Harshal – no more than a pinch-hitter in domestic cricket – who used the depth of the crease superbly to muscle four sixes – three peppering the sightscreen. Dwayne Bravo got his execution wrong, the dipping slower deliveries gave way to full tosses and the last over was taken for 26. Harshal finished 36 not out off 16 deliveries with Bravo’s figures reading a dismal 4-0-52-0 as Daredevils finished with 162.
An unusually slow CSK start
Shane Watson struggled for timing and ploughed his way to 13 off 20 as CSK crawled to 22 without loss in five overs. Rayudu then got stuck into Avesh Khan, pulling him for three sixes and a flat-batted slap for four in the sixth over to break the shackles. Then there was a bit of drama.
Mishra first had Watson miscuing to long-off and then bamboozled Suresh Raina first ball with a googly that took the edge, only for Pant to fluff the chance. This proved to be the trigger for Rayudu to continue his sustained attack to bring up a 28-ball half-century. But he fell off the next ball to a hoick that was well held by Glenn Maxwell to leave CSK at 70 for 2 in 10 overs.
Game-changer Harshal steps up
CSK’s veterans had the platform, but also knew manufacturing strokes off length balls on a sluggish surface wouldn’t be easy. This resulted in desperation. Raina’s heave to a Lamichhane googly was caught at deep midwicket. Sam Billings’ dismissal soon after left Dhoni having to do the bulk of the hitting with CSK needing 58 of 24.
Enter Harshal, with the confidence of a cameo behind him. His third over went for for just three and Daredevils tightened the noose from there on. By the time he bowled out, with figures of 4-0-23-1, CSK needed 39 off the final over.
