Led by a lethal opening burst from Khaleel Ahmed, Delhi Capitals defeated Chennai Super Kings to secure their first win of the IPL 2024 campaign. Defending a target of 192, CSK needed a rocking start from their on-song openers but both Rachin Ravindra and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to get going and departed inside the first three overs. 

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

From thereon, it was an uphill battle all the way through for CSK who fell short by 20 runs in the end, despite a late surge from MS Dhoni (37) and Ravindra Jadeja (21). The former CSK skipper walked out to bat for the first time this season and treated the Vizag crowd to some delicious stroke-making. 

While the openers departed cheaply, the middle-order tried its best to keep up with the required run-rate but the pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Daryly Mitchell struggled against a disciplined bowling lineup. Mitchell lost his shape a few times trying to force the issue and eventually departed against Axar Patel who caught a sharp one off his own bowling. 

ALSO READ | IPL 2024: Clinical GT register thumping win over SRH for second win of season

DC post challenging total

Playing at the new home ground, Capitals came out of the blocks in blistering manner,  courtesy of David Warner and freshly recalled Prithvi Shaw. The duo stitched a 93-run partnership by the halfway mark, forcing Ruturaj to make quick changes to the bowling queue. 

Just when it seemed like DC were running away with the match, Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana pulled a rabbit out of the hat by plucking a stunner in the short third-man region to send Warner home. 

Pathirana’s heroics in the field did not stop there as he came in to bowl and cleaned up Mitchell Marsh as well Tristan Stubbs in the same over. The Australian all-rounder was starting to tee off before Pathirana darted in his slingy, pacy yorker at the base of the stumps which Marsh could not dig out. 

Despite the setbacks, DC skipper Rishabh Pant (52) kept coming at the bowlers and compiled his first fifty after returning to professional cricket, post the horrific car accident. His innings was perhaps the difference between a win and a loss for the Capitals that desperately needed to get off the mark 

Teams:

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman

You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.