MS Dhoni walked out to bat for the first time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as Chennai Super Kings were running short of resources in the chase of 192 against Delhi Capitals on Sunday night. He went off the mark with a boundary and left no stone unturned to entertain the audience with his stupendous cameo of 37 runs in 16 balls. His presence in the middle was a momentary joy ride for the fans but didn’t suffice a win for CSK. The defending champions fell 20 runs short of a third consecutive victory, allowing Delhi to collect their first points in the tournament.
Unlike Delhi, Chennai’s batting was a complete shambles on Sunday night. The early dismissals of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra denied them a strong start in the tricky chase which eventually put pressure on the batters down the order. Ajinkya Rahane (45) looked on song but the surging run rate forced to him to switch gears and in doing so, he fell prey to Mukesh Kumar in the 14th over.
Shivam Dubey managed to grab the Orange Cap, displacing Virat Kohli on the charts of the top scorer but couldn’t deliver when it was needed the most. So was young sensation Sameer Rizvi as both batters succumbed to Mukesh Kumar’s brilliance on consecutive deliveries before Dhoni joined Jadeja in a 51-run partnership.
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The game was far away from CSK’s grip as they needed 40-odd runs in the final over. Even Dhoni was aware of the fact that Delhi would have the last laugh and thus he decided to make merry in the last six balls. Anrich Nortje came to bowl the final over but was taken to the cleaners as the former CSK skipper hit him for 2 boundaries and as many sixes to finish with an unbeaten 37 off just 16 balls.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant announced his arrival with a superb fifty after opening duo of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw provided the foundation as Delhi Capitals posted a competitive 191 for 5. Opting to bat, Warner and Shaw shared a 93-run opening stand but the highlight of the day was Pant’s 32-ball 51, which gave them the impetus in the end.
Pant, who came into the tournament after recovering from a life-threatening road mishap in December 2022, belted four boundaries and three maximums for his first fifty in 15 months. The in-form Warner slammed five boundaries and three maximums during his 35-ball 52, his 110th T20 fifty, which equalled Chris Gayle’s record of most fifty-plus scores in T20s.
Playing his first game this season, Shaw, who hasn’t been able to live up to his immense talent, once again reminded everyone of his boundary-hitting skills, smashing two sixes and four boundaries in his 27-ball 43.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals: 191 for 5 in 20 overs (David Warner 52, Rishabh Pant 52, Prithvi Shaw 43; Matheesha Pathirana 3/31) beat Chennai Super Kings: 171/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 45, Daryl Mitchell 34, MS Dhoni 37 not out; Khaleel Ahmed 2/21, Mukesh Kumar 3/21) by 20 runs.
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