CSK vs DC, IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings defend 167, defeat Delhi Capitals by 27 runs

Sandip G: After he gets a wicket, Matheesha Pathirana keeps his hand in the middle of the chest, shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. A fleeting reverie later, he opens his eyes and smiles beatifically. It could be a prayer, as he is a devout Buddhist and attended a Buddhist religious school, and his father Anura once told the Sunday Observer. “My son is a devoted Buddhist who attended Daham pasal in his childhood. As a family we observe Sil (eight-fold path of Buddha) and participate in most religious programs held in our village temple. I think religion helps to develop a person’s mind,” he said. It could be a requiem for the batsmen too after the piece of torture he had just subjected them. The ball that he nailed Manish Pandey was a ripper, torn straight off Lasith Malinga’s gospel of deception, the low-slung projective traveling wickedly, drifting in at extreme pace and then dipping to blast his pads. As the dismissed  batsman stares back at him helplessly, Pathirana breaks into his prayer of requiem routine. So is it prayer or a requiem.

Tushar Deshpande to bowl the penultimate over of the match as Ripal takes 2 off the first delivery. Swings and misses the next ball. Gets off strike the next for a single. Aman Khan with a thick edge to get a single. Almost caught by Chahar. And that's gone high next!!! Both bowler and fielder go for the catch but fall short. Ali picks up the ball and runs Ripal out with a direct throw. DC 124/7 after 18.5 overs

Pathirana will bowl the 18th and that's 3 wides off this over already. And Axar crunches the second ball for four!! Delhi is not going down without a fight. 2 from the next 2. And the pace is taken off of the 5th ball as Axar holes out to Rahane. DC 116/6 after 17.5 overs

Theekshana for the 17th and Azar hits it straight and it has hit the bowler on his finger. 2 runs next to bring up DC's 100. The 4th ball is dispatched for a 6 by Axar!! DC 108/5 after 17 overs

Pathirana again to see off the 16th and Patel takes a single after seeing off the first ball. Axar crunches the 3rd ball for a much-needed boundary. DC 97/5 after 16 overs

Jadeja in to finish his spell and bowl CSK's 15th. Ripal Patel takes a single to give the strike to Rossouw who holes out to Ptahirana in the deep. Delhi's struggles continue. DC 89/5 after 14.3 overs

Moeen Ali will bowl the 14th and the last over of his spell. Just 2 from the first 4 balls as the run rate is creeping up. Just 4 from this over. DC 88/4 after 14 overs

Matheesha Pathirana has been introduced and Pandey has decided to go after him. In the slot and Pandey gets a six!! 2 more from the next 3 balls. Brilliant yorker to snap up Manish Pandey to end this over!!! DC 84/4 after 13 overs

Moeen Ali again to bowl the 12th. A single by Rossouw to give the strike back to Pandey who returns the favour after a dot ball. The 50-run partnership is up from 51 balls. DC 76/3 after 12 overs

Jadeja back into the attack to bowl the 12th. Gives away 3 from the first 2 deliveries. Delhi need boundaries but where do they get it from is the question. Jadeja is hardly giving them any space. DC 72/3 after 11 overs

Moeen Ali in to bowl the 10th over and gives away just 2 from it. The batters struggle to get him away for big hits as Moeen pegs them back even more. DC 65/3 after 10 overs

Jadeja will bowl the 9th and yields two singles from the first 2 balls before Rossouw cracks the 3rd for a four. Takes 2 runs more. Decent over for Delhi. DC 63/3 after 9 overs

Moeen Ali in for the 8th and gets turn straightaway as Rossouw misses his stroke. Finally gets a single to rotate strike. Pandey gets hold of the 5th ball and deposits it straight down the wicket for a maximum. DC 55/3 after 8 overs 

Chahar is replaced by Jadeja who will bowl the 7th over. Lovely shape of the ball as Rossouw swings and misses the second one. Back to back dots next as Jadeja keeps it quiet in the middle. DC 48/3 after 7 overs

Theekshana will bowl the last over of the powerplay and yields a single from the first 2 balls. Another single next as Theekshana almost gets a hand to it. Just 5 from this one. DC 47/3 after 6 overs

Chahar will bowl the 5th and Rossouw pulls him for a 6 off his second ball!! And four more, this time to long off!! Beautiful shots. Pandey is fortunate as his shot just evades two fielders to run to the fence. DC 42/3 after 5 overs

Oh dear god!!! It goes horribly wrong for Delhi Capitals as Mitchell Marsh is run out!!! Manish Pandey hesitates but Marsh had already set out. Pandey changes his mind and goes back to the striker's craese as Marsh is left high and dry. Rahane takes the ball, runs the length of the pitch and takes the bails off. Terrible communication. DC 25/3 after 3.1 overs

Chahr back to bowl the 3rd and Salt takes a blow to his ribs. That looks very painful. The physio will check on him but he looks fine. A wide by Chahar next. The extra ball is picked up by the Englishman for a 6!!! And he's gone!!! He swings at it, gets the bottom of the bat and Rayudu takes the catch. DC 20/2 after 2.3 overs 

Tushar Deshpande steams in for the second over and Marsh takes a single off his pad. Leg bye. Follows that up with a great ball which whistles past Salt. Finally a bondary as Salt strikes for four before dispatching the next for a huge 6!! DC 13/1 after 2 overs

Huge shout for leg before by Chahar. The umpire says not out and there's a roar from the crowd and Dhoni takes a review. But the Dhoni Review System gets one wrong this time as there was a clear spike with the ball hitting the bat. DC 1/1 after 1 over

Warner and Philip Salt are at the crease. Warner is on strike. Chahar will open the attack. And gone!!! Warner goes for a big one, does not get a proper hit and Rahane takes the catch!!! DC 0/1 after 0.2 overs

Sandip G: In his helicopter-shot whirling heyday, few batsmen used to guess a bowler’s designs in the death overs of a bowler than MS Dhoni. His anticipation and smarts remain intact in the twilight of his career too. He reads the best intentions of the bowler. So the third ball of Khaleel Ahmed’s 19th over, he hung back, expecting a short ball. And so it turned out to be, as he flayed the ball over the midwicket to the rapturous crowd. The next two balls, he would shuffle back and across, for he knew Khaleel would full and far, assuming that Dhoni would miss the ball. He missed the first swipe, it was so wide that it was deemed illegal. The next ball was similar and Dhoni threw his bat at it and managed a thick-edged four.  The next two balls, he ditched the shuffle and did not premeditate because Khaleel, he knew, would bowl slower balls. And so he did, and Dhoni pummeled the last ball down the ground. He is producing the cricketing version of The Inception.

Last over of the innings and Jadeja will face it. Marsh will bowl the last over and gives away four to start. Swings his bat at it again and holes out to Axar Patel. Chahahr takes a single and Dhoni will face the last 2 balls. a wide from rash. Still 2 left. Dhoni is gone!!! Went for a big hit and Warner takes the catch. Single to end. CSK 167/8 after 20 overs.

Dhoni on strike and Khaleel is back to bowl the penultimate over. Dhoni looks to be in a bit of discomfort while running. Not a good sign. Great yorker by the bowler for 1 more. And a huge six by Dhoni. Stays put and hits a flat six!! A thivk inside edge for Dhoni and it's over the top and goes behind for four more!!! Takes two and finsiges the over with a six!!!! CSK 160/6 after 19 overs

Kuldeep in to bowl the 18th and finish his spell. Starts with a wide while the next one is picked by by Jadeja for a 6!!! Goes for 2 and there's an umpire's review for run out. Jadeja has made his ground though. An under-edge by Jadeja next as the fourth delivery yields 0. Ends with 2. CSK 139/6 after 18 overs

Khaleel is back to bowl the 17th and Jadeja cuts for a single to start. Rayudu tries to take him on and he alos holes out in the deep for a catch to Ripal Patel. CSK 126/6 after 16.2 overs

Kuldeep Yadav will bowl the 16th and starts off with 2 singles off the first 2 balls. Just 3 more from the next 3 balls, including a wide. CSK 125/5 after 16 overs

Kuldeep Yadav will bowl the 16th and starts off with 2 singles off the first 2 balls. Just 3 more from the next 3 balls, including a wide. CSK 125/5 after 16 overs

Kuldeep Yadav will bowl the 16th and starts off with 2 singles off the first 2 balls. Just 3 more from the next 3 balls, including a wide. CSK 125/5 after 16 overs

Marsh starts the 15th with a wide. And Dube goes after him again but this time does not get the distance and Warner with a comfortable take in the deep. CSK 113/5 after 14.2 overs

Lait in to bowl the 14th and dube starts this over with a straight six!!! And again!!! He just nonchalantly picks the second ball for another massive maximum. 100 up for CSK. Rayudu joins the party next and sweeps him for four. The over ends with a 6 by Rayudu!!! What a turnaround. CSK 111/4 after 14 overs

Mitchell Marsh will bowl the 13th and Rayudu takes 2 to get this over underway. Just 2 from the next 3 balls as well as Chennai's boundaries have dried up. CSK 88/4 after 13 overs

Lait Yadav in to bowl the 12th and what a catch by the bowler himself. Rahane hits it hard, Lait goes low and pulls it off with a one-handed effort. Spectacular!! CSK 77/4 after 11.1 over

Axar to bowl the 11th and end his spell. Dube goes after him and smokes him for the first 6 of the innings. That has gone a long, long way. 2 singles follow. CSK 77/3 after 11 overs

Kuldeep will bowl the 10th and Rahane starts with a quick single. Moeen Ali returns the favour and the strike with 1 run as well. Moeen tries to come down the track and take on Yadav but gets an edge to give a simple catch to Mitchell Marsh. CSK 64/3 after 9.3 overs

Axar in to bowl the 8th over. Yields 1 from 2 balls. 2 more from the next 2 as Delhi puts on a squeeze on the CSK batters. CSK 61/2 after 9 overs

Spinners from both ends as Kuldeep is introduced for the 7th over. Starts with a dot ball. Just 2 from the next 3 balls. Decent little over thus far. 5 from this one. CSK 57/2 afer 8 overs

Axar Patel with a breakthrough again as Gaijwad tries to go for a big hit. Does not get the required distance and Aman Khan takes the catch in the deep. CSK 49/2 after 6.1 overs

Isnat Sharma will bowl the last over of the powerplay. Starts with a single as Rahane rotates strike. A dot next with Ruturaj opting to defend. Bangs the next one short and Rahane pulls for a boundary. CSK 49/1 after 6 overs

Sandip G: Usually, when batsmen pull, they open up their stance and face the ball chest on. The front leg is moved back and towards the leg side, forming the base for the shot with the head slightly forward. But Devon Conway plays it differently, he does not unlock his body at all and stays side-on. Rather, he lifts his front leg, lets the ball come onto him, the backfoot moves not too much across but backwards, even as the bat makes a clean horizontal swing. The body is arching a bit and the head going slightly backward than forward. The temptation is to compare him with Brian Lara, who too used to play the pull in a similar fashion, but ostentatiously. Conway is more like the South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, an under-appreciated trailblazer. Conway employs the more conventional pull as well, but prefers the locked-body pull when he pulls the short-of-length balls.

Sandip G: The balls hustled to David Warner, prowling mid-off, twice. Both were crisp drives from Ruturaj Gaikwad. The first one breezed to his left, but as he stretched his hands to intervene the ball’s boundary-ward path, he slipped, as though someone tripped him. The ball dribbled off his body, the contact took the sting out of the ball, and Gaikwad could accrue a single. On the second instance, the ball was struck firmly and seemed like racing to the ropes, past the right side of Warner. The Delhi Capitals captain seemed he was late to pick the shot, but he made amends with a springy dive to thwart a certain boundary. Though not the tallest, he has considerable reach, as though he is propelled by an invisible spring beneath his feet. 

Axar Patel in to bowl the 5th and strikes staright away!! Conway tries to sweep, gets caught leg before. decides against the review and walks off. CSK 32/1 after 4.1 overs

Delhi introduce spin early and Lait Yadav will replace Ishant sharma. Huge shout for an LBW but umpire not moved. Delhi will review this one. It's still not out as Delhi lose a review. Conway removes the shackles and hits one straight down the ground for four. Over the bowler's head it went. CSK 32/0 after 4 overs

Khaleel to bowl the 3rd and that's a dot as Conway swings but misses. Khalee; says he heard something but Warner decides against a review for caught behind. 2 runs off the next ball by Conway and a single off the third. Ultraedge show that Conway had, in fact, got a nick. CSK 25/0 after 3 overs

Ishant Sharma will bowl the second over and starts with a wide. He rebowls again and gets a dot. Off the edge next as the ball evades the keeper and goes behind for a four. Pretty late stroke but a boundary nontheless. Nudges the 3rd to put Conway on strike. Another wide. The ball is bowled wideish again as Conway pulls, gets a glove for a single. Gaikwad gets an edge again and it's gone for four more. The over ends with a great drive to add four more to the tally. CSK 20/0 after 2 overs

Gaikwad and Conway are at the crease. Gaikwad is on strike. Khaleel Ahmed will open the attack. Starts with 2 dot balls as Gaikwad gets set with two vastly different strokes. Warner slips during the 3rd ball which enables the single, the first run on the board. Another single as Conway gives the strike back to Gaikwad. Another single as Warner pulls off a specatcular save to stop a boundary. CSK 4/0 after 1 over

A look at the Playing XIs of the two sides ????

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CSK subs: Matheesha Pathirana, Subhranshu Senapati, Mitch Santner, Akash Singh, Shaik Rasheed

DC subs: Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Pravin dubey, Chetan Sakariya, Abhishek Porel

At the toss, MS Dhoni said that in form batter Shivam Dube has been replaced by Ambati Rayudu while Delhi's change includes Lalit Yadav come in for MAanish Pandey. 

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): David Warner(c), Philip Salt(w), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

MS Dhoni: We will bat first. We have played a few games on this wicket. There are chances of this wicket slowing down. We can't complain about this track. We try to keep it simple. We try to keep reiterating the same thing. Try to accomplish your plan. Try to execute your plans. We have one change. Rayudu comes in for Dube.

David Warner: Looks a little bit dry. The boys have come out with the right attidtude. We had to work on our powerplay batting. Try and excute on this wicket as much as you can.

The coin goes up and Chennai Super Kings have won the toss. MS Dhoni opts to bat first against Delhi Capitals 

In the Purple Cap race, GT's Mohammad Shami rules the roost with 19 wickets. He is followed by GT's Rashid Khan with 19, CSK Tushar Deshpande (19), Piyush Chawla (17) and Varun Chakravarthy (17) 

In the Orange Cap race, RCB captain Faf du Plessis leads the standings with 576 runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal of RR is second with 477 followed by GT's Shubam Gill (469), CSK's Devon Conway (458) and RCB's Virat kohli (420)

"61 metres and 68 metres (square boundaries), 75 metres downtown. As usual here in Chennai, it (pitch) is nice and dry, it's very hard but a little hollow and it just begs the question of why there are so many runs that we are actually seeing here at Chepauk this year. Is it going to turn? That's the thing I am going to be looking at when it comes to this wicket and I believe it is. This year, it has turned less than previous years - just 2 degrees - and a lot of it is because it's been very hard. At the moment, it's looking like it's dry. Couple of days of rain, but it's dry and even though it won't crumble too much, I am gonna bat first. This is going to break up a little bit as the evening goes on," says Simon Doull and Matthew Hayden.

Chennai Super Kings’ pacer Matheesha Pathirana rattled Mumbai Indians batters towards the end of the first innings and restrict the visitors to 139. On Saturday, Pathirana mixed his lengths as much as he varied his pace and finished with 3-15 in four overs bowling at the death.

Speaking highly of the youngster, CSK MS Dhoni said,' I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, even play only ICC tournaments with ODIs and keep the rest as less as possible, because he’s not someone who’ll change a lot."

If we come to the points table, Chennai Super Kings are sitting comfortably at the 2nd spot while the Delhi Capitals are lodged at the bottom end of the standings at 10th even after winning 4 matches out of their last 5.

Chennai's Ajinkya Rahane has been in a resurgent form lately with the batter having a decent record against pace bowling. However, he has his Achilles' heel in the form of veteran pacer Ishant Sharma who has dismissed him twice, yielding just 49 runs from 48 balls.