Finance
By: Shree1news, 10 APR 2021
M S Dhoni had stated at the toss that defending totals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will not be an easy task and he bought his assessment spot on as Delhi Capitals made light work of an above-par 189-run target in their IPL 2021 opener on Saturday.
It was the apprentice Rishabh Pant who clinched a win over his master Dhoni to get his IPL captaincy career off to a successful begin. It was also Delhi Capitals’ 3rd straight win over the 3-time champions as they had accomplished a double over Dhoni’s men in IPL 2020.
Led by T20 batting masterclass from openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan, Delhi Capitals gunned down the target in just 18.4 overs to get their campaign off to a strong start. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings lost their opener in an IPL season for the first time since suffering a defeat to Punjab Kings in 2014.
T20 masterclass from Dhawan-Shaw
Chennai Super Kings had enviable depth in their batting order however they lacked firepower in the bowling unit that was wanted to stop the onslaught from Dhawan and Shaw. The senior opener, who had turn into the primary batsman within the IPL to hit two back-to-back tons of last year, smashed 85 from just 54 balls, toying with CSK fielders in their season opener.
Dhawan and Shaw, it seemed, have been having a big-hitting contest between themselves as they bulldozed the CSK bowling attack that looked hapless on the Super Saturday. Dhawan hit 2 sixes and 10 boundaries and took the Capitals close to the finish line before getting out LBW in the 17th over. Throughout Dhawan’s stay in the middle, captain MS Dhoni looked jaded as nothing was going according to play for CSK.
Shaw, on the other hand, carried his fine domestic form and proved a point to his critics, slamming a 38-ball 72. The young Mumbai opener was on top of his sport as he discovered gaps at will and looked like hitting boundaries of every delivery he faced.
Shaw had lost his place in the Delhi Capitals squad last year after a poor run of kind however the youngster seems to be like he has sealed the opening spot for the foreseeable future.
Both Dhawan and Shaw weren’t capable of carry their bat, but they’d achieved enough damage. Captain Rishabh Pant, who promoted himself to No. 3, and Marcus Stoinis accomplished the formality.
None of the CSK bowlers, barring Dwayne Bravo, looked like they had anything to stop the carnage from Shaw and Dhawan.
Earlier in the day, Chennai Super Kings posted 188 despite being reduced to 7 for 2 after opening their elegant openers Faf du Plessis and Rurutaj Gaikwad inside the first 3 overs. CSK managed just 32 runs within the powerplay but Suresh Raina made sure CSK got the much-needed push in the middle overs.
Raina returned to the IPL with a bang as he hit a 54-ball 36 that was filled with free-flowing strokes, particularly against the two Delhi Capitals spinners in R Ashwin and Amit Mishra.
CSK missed the middle-overs master last year but in his very first outing for CSK In IPL 2020, the left-hander made sure CSK milked 105 runs from overs 7 to 15.
Raina stitched fifty-run stands with Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu as the two batsmen chipped in with handy contributions.
However, Avesh Khan struck in quick succession to peg back CSK who were rescued by a Sam Curran blitzkrieg (15-ball 35) in the end.
