Chennai

MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja's blistering knocks followed by Matheesha Pathirana's three-wicket haul helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clinch a 27-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.

For CSK, Dhoni and Jadeja's 19th over onslaught took CSK to 167/8. Pathirana bagged three while Deepak Chahar scalped two and Ravindra Jadeja took one wicket. For Delhi, Rilee Rossouw scored the highest with 35 off 37 while Manish Pandey played a knock of 27 runs in 29 balls.

Defending a total of 167, Chennai bowlers dominated Delhi batters at the start of their innings, Deepak Chahar drew first blood as he claimed a big wicket of David Warner to give DC an early shock in the first over of the match. Warner went back to the pavilion for a two-ball duck.

The right-handed batter Mitchell Marsh then came out to the crease. In the third over of the game, Chahar stuck again as he dismissed set batter Phil Salt for 17. Chahar bowled a short-length delivery and Salt fetched the pull and mistimed it to hand a simple catch to Ambati Rayudu. Manish Pandey then came out to bat.

It did not take DC to lose their balance in the chase and lose Mitchell Marsh to run out. A big mix-up between DC batter saw CSK run out Marsh for 5.

Rilee Rossouw then came out to bat and joined hands with Manish Pandey. The duo of Manish and Rossouw slammed Chahar for 15 runs with the help of one six and two fours. After 5 over of the play DC's score read 42/3.

Rossouw and Manish brought up their fifty-run partnership off 51 deliveries for the fourth wicket. However, Manish's 27 runs innings at the crease came to an end as he was dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana in the 13th over of the game.

Axar Patel then came out to bat and slammed some boundaries to ease pressure from his team. Rossouw then lost his wicket to Ravindra Jadeja after scoring a crucial 35.

His cameo then came to an end as Pathirana delivered a slower ball and the DC all-rounder pulled a shot which was caught by Ajinkya Rahane in the deep in the 18th over.

In the last over, Lalit Yadav slammed a hat-trick of fours however his late flourish innings was not able to guide his team home. CSK clinched 27 runs victory over Delhi Capitals.

Earlier, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja's 19th over onslaught took Chennai Super Kings' total to 167/8 against Delhi Capitals.

Khaleel Ahemd leaked 21 runs in the 19th over, allowing the CSK to reach a competitive score.

Delhi Capitals started off with intensity, with left-armer Khaleel Ahmed bowling a tidy over and the CSK managing to score just four runs in the first over. However, Devon Conway and his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad recovered well in the second over as they went after Ishant Sharma. Ishant conceded 16 runs in his first over.

Gaikwad struck three fours in Ishant's over, making his intentions clear. There was an appeal for caught behind, but DC didn't review it and Conway lived to fight for another day.

Axar Patel came into the attack in the fifth over to provide DC with a crucial breakthrough. Even as Conway tried to match Gaikwad's scoring rate, Axar managed to send him back to the dugout, trapping him lbw for 10 (13).

At the end of the powerplay, CSK were 49/1. Even before Gaikwad could find his grove after the strategic timeout, Axar picked up another wicket as Gaikwad's shot landed straight into the hands of Aman Hakim Khan.

The left-handed batter Moeen Ali arrived at the crease at the fall of Gaikwad for 24(18). Ajinkya Rahane and Moeen then took their time to settle in but kept turning the strike over.

Moeen tried to accelerate but ended up losing his wicket in the 10th over as he fell into the trap of Kuldeep Yadav, hitting a miscued shot straight into the hands of Mitchell Marsh.

Ajinkya Rahane soon followed Moeen back into the dugout in the 12th over, playing a shot which was pouched single-handed by Lalit Yadav.

Ambati Rayudu arrived at the crease next and, along with Shivam Dube, he tried to string a partnership on his 200th appearance for the Men in Yellow. However, Dube fell early, losing his wicket to Mitchell Marsh for a score of 25 (12).

With overs passing quickly by, Rayudu tried to go for a maximum but the ball ended up holing out to Ripal Patel. It was down to MS Dhoni to play the finisher's role thereafter. In the company of Ravindra Jadeja, MSD rolled back the years as he tore into the DC attack.

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Khaleel became their prime target as he leaked 21 runs in the 19th over. Mitchell Marsh managed to limit the damage, dismissing Jadeja and Dhoni for scores of 21(16) and 20(9) respectively. CSK closed their innings at 167/8 in 20 overs.