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Abu Dhabi: A clinical Chennai Super Kings handed a lacklustre Delhi Daredevils a 93-run defeat in the eighth match of the Pepsi Indian Premier League season seven at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Chasing a 178-run target, DD's batting never really took off as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were restricted to 84 for nine in 15.3 overs with the last batsman, Nathan Coulter-Nile, absent hurt after suffering a hamstring injury earlier in the match. CSK bowlers, who had failed to defend a 205-run total against Kings XI Punjab in their first game, learned from their mistakes and skipper MS Dhoni's decision to ring in three changes from their last game also worked wonderfully.
Ishwar Pandey, who replaced Ashish Nehra in the team returned with figures of two for 23 and was helped by some sharp catching. Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis were livewires in the field, sharing five excellent catches between them. CSK's fielding ensured that DD had no respite. As many as seven catches were taken by CSK fielders. Dinesh Karthik and Jimmy Neesham were the only two DD batsmen who managed to go beyond 20 runs.
Earlier, asked to bowl, DD's bowlers made good use of their resources to restrict CSK for 34 for one by the end of the first Powerplay. Karthik used four bowlers in the first six overs as JP Duminy began the proceedings. The move yielded good results as Brendon McCullum, who had smashed 67 in CSK's first game, was back in the hut in the fourth over after adding only nine runs to the team's total. Jaydev Unadkat got the prized scalp.
Dwayne Smith did go about his usual business at the other end after McCullum's fall and was well supported by IPL veteran Raina. The second-wicket partnership between Smith (29) and Raina yielded 54 runs until Shahbaz Nadeem's arm ball got through Smith's defences and hit the stumps.
Smith's dismissal brought in du Plessis at the crease. At that point of time one would have expected DD captain to bring on his main bowlers but it wasn't the case as Murali Vijay was introduced into the attack. Maybe, Karthik wanted to sneak in some quick overs considering Coulter-Nile's injury. Realising the opportunity, Raina carted Vijay for three fours in the twelfth over as CSK moved along swiftly.
Credit must go to the DD bowlers who managed to put a check on CSK's run rate despite Raina going strong at one end. Duminy and Neesham maintained a steady line and never allowed the big hitting duo at the crease to blaze away. Neesham managed to send back a dangerous looking Raina after the batsman had helped himself to a 41-ball 56. The onus was on CSK captain Dhoni to give his team the late push and he didn't disappoint his fans. With two sixes and two fours, Dhoni notched up 32 runs in his 15-ball stay helping his team put up a challenging 177 for seven.
Unadkat was the pick of the DD's bowlers returning with three for 32 in his four overs including the prized scalps of Dhoni and McCullum. Raina was adjudged Man of the Match for his spectacular performance.
Earlier, Chennai have won the toss and have opted to bat.
CSK made three changes -- Dwayne Bravo (obviously), Ashish Nehra and Pawan Negi miss out. Hilfenhaus, Mithun Manhas and Ishwar Pandey come in.
Delhi are unchanged, means agains without KP.
Teams
Delhi : Mayank Agarwal, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (Capt. & wk), Jean-Paul Duminy, Manoj Tiwary, Ross Taylor, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat
Chennai : Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Mithun Manhas, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ishwar Pandey, Mohit Sharma
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings : 177/7 (Raina 56, Dhoni 32, Unadkat 3-32)
Delhi Daredevils : 84 (Ashwin 2-3)
Result : Chennai won by 93 runs
Points : Chennai Super Kings 2, Delhi Daredevils 0
