IPL 2018, CSK vs DD: Hits and Misses
In Chennai Super Kings’ fourth home game of the season (third in Pune), Delhi Daredevils skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and put CSK into bat first.
The ‘Men in Yellow’ started slowly as they got to 25/0 but Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis took the attack to the DD bowlers as they 78 runs in the next seven overs.
Despite the losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, CSK didn’t slow down as Watson went on to score a brutal 78.
And then it was MS Dhoni who finished off in style as he struck a sensational 22-ball 51. Ambati Rayudu also scored a nice cameo as he made 41 in 22 balls which propelled CSK to 211 in their 20 overs.
In reply, DD got off to a good start but they lost wickets at regular intervals. Rishabh Pant was the only batsman who was looking good and was the only DD batsman who got some momentum into the innings.
He struck an excellent 79 and despite Vijay Shankar’s late blitz wasn’t enough as 212 proved to be too much.
It gave CSK their sixth win of the season and they once again jumped up to the top of the points table.
#5 Hit: Rishabh Pant
After a good start to this IPL, Rishabh Pant failed in the last couple of games (scoring 4 and 0).
However, he was the lone shining light of DD’s batting performance as he scored a very good 79.
He was the only batsman who was looking good in the middle and looked to offer a fight after DD had lost three wickets in seven overs.
He walked out with the score reading 46/2 in five overs. He started with a bang as he whipped an outside off-stump length over mid-on for six.
He then struck a boundary to race off to 10 in two balls. Pant seemed to be in destructive mood but with wickets falling around him, he could quite launch himself.
Pant fought a lone battle as he struck a 45-ball 79 as he tried to take Delhi as close to CSK’s score. The Delhi wicket-keeper batsman struck seven fours and a couple of sixes.