All-round team show by Delhi Capitals guided them to 44 runs victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.
Chasing a moderate target of 176, CSK openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay played cautiously but all-rounder Axar Patel provided the first breakthrough as he bagged Watson (14) in the fifth over.
Faf du Plessis joined Vijay in the middle but the latter failed to convert the start and was dismissed by pacer Anrich Nortje in the last over of the powerplay.
Follow the match as it happened:
Half-time report: CSK should reach the target
The Chennai Super Kings bowled superbly to restrict the Delhi Capitals to 175 runs in 20 overs. When Prithvi Shaw (64) and Shikhar Dhawan (35) posted 94 for the first wicket, it looked as if Delhi would rack up a huge total. But the CSK spinners arrested the scoring, and when the pacers came back, Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood bowled some beautiful lines to prevent the Delhi batsmen from scoring freely.
A target of 176 can be chased down. The dew will be a factor, and bowlers will find it tough to grip the ball. But CSK must get off to a good start and should avoid getting themselves bogged down in the middle overs. So, Chennai should get there. Unless Delhi bowlers grab some early wickets.
