A whirlwind knocks by Prithvi Shaw (72) and Shikhar Dhawan (85) helped the Delhi Capitals (DC) to win their first game of IPL 2021 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 7 wickets in Mumbai. DC chased down a huge score of 189 with 8 balls to spare. Shaw and Dhawan gave DC blazing starts as they launched an all-out attack against Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran, and Shardul Thakur which helped the team to reach the score of 65 runs without losing a wicket by the end of the powerplay.
Moeen Ali nearly provided CSK their first breakthrough as Shaw mistimed his shot but Mitchell Santner failed to grab the ball well. Shaw got another reprieve as Gaikwad dropped a tough catch at deep midwicket as the pocket dynamo went on to score a 27-ball fifty. Nothing was going in the favor of CSK as Shaw and Dhawan gleefully dispatched the bowlers in the stand.
WATCH – Twitterati Reacts On A Shocking Stoinis After Seeing Amit Mishra’s Sloppy Fielding
Shaw eventually got dismissed in the 13th over while attempting a lofted cover-drive for a four. However, Shikhar Dhawan ensured that there was no twist in the tail before getting out at a 54-ball 85. Stoinis and Rishabh Pant eventually finished the game for the Capitals. Batting first, CSK got off to the worst possible start as they lost both openers- Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis early.
However, Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali had no intention of slowing down as the duo decided to go against the spinners of the Capitals. In the third over of Ashwin, Moeen Ali smashed back-to-back sixes, but the spinner had the last laugh as Ali got out while rever-sweeping.
But Ali’s wicket did not put any halt on CSK’s run-scoring as Raina and Ambati Rayudu were thinking the Delhi Capitals spin duo of Ashwin and Amit Mishra. CSK blazed the 100-run mark in the 13th over while Raina brought up his fifty with another six in just 32 deliveries. The partnership was broken when Rayudu skied an attempted smack the ball only to be caught by Shikhar Dhawan.
WATCH – Suresh Raina Lost His Wicket After A Huge Mix-up With Jadeja
The wicket led to a mini-collapse as Suresh Raina (54 off 36) got run-out after a huge mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja and then MS Dhoni chopped it onto his stumps for a second-ball duck in the same over of Avesh Khan. Then, Ravindra Jadeja (24 off 17) and Sam Curran (34 off 15) joined hands to make sure that SK finished on a high. Sam tonked his brother Tom in the 19th over as CSK eventually finished with 7/188 after 20.
Hits
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina was playing his first match for CSK after the IPL 2019 and there were a lot of expectations were on him and he delivered. The veteran campaigner played a fiery knock of 36-ball 54 with the help of 3 fours and 4 sixes.
Prithvi Shaw
After witnessing the forgettable outing in IPL 2020, Prithvi Shaw was under some pressure to perform. However, he was in fine form after score more than 800 runs in the Vijay Hazare trophy and he continued his form by playing a flamboyant knock of 38-ball 72 with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes.
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan had a decent outing in the ODI series against England for India and he started right from where he left in Pune. He started smashing the CSK bowlers from the word go as he played a match-winning knock of 54-ball 85 with the help of 10 fours and 2 sixes. He also received the man-of-the-match award.
Flops
R Ashwin
R Ashwin had a fairly decent outing for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 as he scalped 15 wickets, but he witnessed a forgettable outing in IPl 2021 opener for his team. Ashwin gave away 47 runs in his quota of 4 fours and took a wicket of Moeen Ali.
Shardul Thakur
After having a phenomenal outing in the limited-over series against England, Shardul Thakur was high-on confidence but he failed to deliver against DC, as he conceded 53 runs in 3.4 over with a consolation wicket of Shikhar Dhawan.
