Delhi Capitals registered an easy victory against Chennai Super Kings by massive margin of 7 wickets and 8 balls to spare. The target of 189 proved too less for the Delhi team who hunted down the target with ridiculous ease.
The architects of this victory were the openers of Delhi Capitals. It was the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw that killed the game for Chennai. Moreover, they added 138 runs in less than 14 overs to end the match as a contest long before the game was finished.
Chasing 189 to win, Delhi got off to a blitzkreig start. The first boundary came in the second ball of the initial over when Shaw hit one to Deepak Chahar. Dhawan followed suit by smacking one boundary as the first over leaked 9 runs.
136 runs in 13.2 overs!
From there on, both the batsmen matched each other shot for shot. Consequently, the duo targeted left arm seamer Sam Curran as he gave 17 runs in the fourth over. His medium pace balls were like meat and drink for the two batters who laid into him.
Shardul Thakur met the same fate as he too leaked seventeen runs in the next over. Delhi Capitals team 50 came in 4.5 overs. Hence,at the end of powerplay, Delhi had scored 65 runs and given their team a brilliant start.
Even the end of powerplay did not hamper the run rate of Delhi. Hence, they continued to target and severely punish anything loose. Also, the spinners Jadeja and Moeen Ali were smashed for boundaries by both the batsmen. At the halfway mark of 10 overs, Delhi had reached 99 runs and were cruising with the match.
The next over of Thakur was again expensive as it went for 14 runs. Moreover, Moeen Ali was hit for 15 runs in next over as both batsmen reached their respective fifties.
However, just when it appeared that they would take their team to victory without getting dismissed, Shaw was sent back to pavilion by Bravo. He played a scintillating knock of 72. Shikhar Dhawan too followed him soon and he was also gone for 85 runs.
The way they played, it appeared that both of them had points to prove to the Indian team management. And, most probably, they were successful in doing so.
Watch the video of their partnership here:
Shikhar Dhawan Inning:
Prithvi Shaw Inning
