IPL 2023: MS Dhoni's CSK one step away from securing playoff berth after putting DC on the cusp of elimination

Chasing a target of 168 runs, DC batters looked completely out of sorts on a sluggish Chepauk pitch. David Warner was dismissed for a duck on the second ball of the innings and the Delhi-based franchise never recovered after losing their captain early.

SportsTak

• Wed • 10 May 2023

Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) rode on a complete team performance and defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by 27 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 10 (Wednesday). The Men in Yellow knocked David Warner's men on the doors of elimination while improving their record to seven wins after playing 12 matches. With 15 points, MS Dhoni's men are just one win away from qualifying for the playoffs.

Chasing a target of 168 runs, DC batters looked completely out of sorts on a sluggish Chepauk pitch. David Warner was dismissed for a duck on the second ball of the innings and the Delhi-based franchise never recovered after losing their captain early. After dismissing Warner, Deepak Chahar also bagged the wicket of dangerous Phil Salt (17 runs off 11 balls), Manish Pandey (27 runs off 29 balls) and Rilee Rossouw (35 runs off 37 balls) occupied the crease for a substantial period of time but the duo never got going.

For CSK, in-form Matheesha Pathirana was terrific with the ball once again as he bagged three wickets, Chahar bagged two wickets and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a wicket.

Earlier, CSK won the toss and elected to bat first. MS Dhoni showed his hitting prowess and hammered two big sixes to boost CSK's score to 167/ 8 in 20 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 20 runs off nine balls and smacked Khaleel Ahmed for a couple of maximums in the penultimate over to give a push to the score on an evening when run-making wasn't very easy.

None of the CSK batters could go on and get a substantial score with Shivam Dube (25) being the highest score. There were 20s by Ruturaj Gaikwad (24), Ambati Rayudu (23) and Ajinkya Rahane (21).

Courtesy of handy contributions from multiple batters and a late flourish from Dhoni, CSK posted a competitive total of 167/8 in 20 overs.

DC bowlers, especially left-arm spinner Axar Patel (2/27) and Mitchell Marsh (3/18 ) were the pick of all bowlers while Kuldeep Yadav (1/28) and Lalit Yadav (1/34) were the other wicket-takers.