A whirlwind knocks by Prithvi Shaw (72) and Shikhar Dhawan (85) helped the Delhi Capitals (DC) to win their first game 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. Dhawan joined Shaw to complete his 50 in the next over as DC crossed the 100-run mark in just the 11th over. 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- within the first three overs.
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.
Here is how Twitter reacted to DC’s easy win:
That last square drive from Prithvi Shaw. Sumptuous!
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) April 10, 2021
Nice to see *🙏
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) April 10, 2021
Very impressed so far by Prithvi Shaw. He is such a natural stroke player but, other than one false shot, has chosen his deliveries to hit really well.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 10, 2021
A good day for us. pic.twitter.com/2trokngAoi
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 10, 2021
SHAWshank Redemption! #DCvsCSK #IPL2021 #PrithviShaw pic.twitter.com/SToLgILNkX
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) April 10, 2021
A new 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐫 for Gabbar 🏔️
First to 6⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Fours and each one of them filled with 100% swag 💙#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #CSKvDC pic.twitter.com/DnX3ag4KFX
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 10, 2021
https://twitter.com/benjonescricket/status/1380926549965291520?s=20
Congratulations @DelhiCapitals for winning first match against @ChennaiIPL by 7 wickets. It’s beginning of the tournament. We will get to see lots of good cricket in days to come. @BCCI @IPL
— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) April 10, 2021
In the 10 matches which #CSK bowled first in IPL 2020 only once a team posted 190+ – RR, courtesy a 30-run over from Ngidi.#DelhiCapitals today has shown how to treat this bowling attack. The bowling has variety and options but lacks quality, especially without Tahir.#CSKvDC
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) April 10, 2021
Comprehensive victory for @DelhiCapitals. Both the openers @PrithviShaw & @SDhawan25 played their A game 👏@IPL #IPL2021 #CSKvsDD
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) April 10, 2021
@DelhiCapitals looks like the team to watch out for this season! Phenomenal Job and showed where @ChennaiIPL is going to have a tough time this time in #IPL2021 ! Superb knocks by @PrithviShaw and @SDhawan25 both look they are set for this season! #CSKvDC
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) April 10, 2021