IPL 2023 Live Report - Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals at MA Chidambaram Stadium

A truly all-round effort from Chennai Super Kings helped them trounce Delhi Capitals by 27 runs in Chennai, helping the four-time champions get one step closer towards the IPL playoffs.

CSK’s highest run-scorer was Shivam Dube with 25, but six batters entered the twenties, including MS Dhoni who made 20 in nine deliveries.

Dhoni’s late hits lifted CSK to 167, and after that Deepak Chahar gave them the upper hand by removing both Capitals openers inside three overs.

Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja then provided the squeeze after Capitals slid to 25 for 3, and in the back end it was Matheesha Pathirana providing the finishing touch that sealed an NRR-boosting win for the hosts.

CSK are now almost certain of a top-four finish with 15 points in 12 games, while another win in their next two matches should secure a top-two position. The Capitals can now reach 14 points at best, which realistically might not be enough this season.

Capitals need 43 in one over. Impossible. And that means their playoff chances are very difficult now, since they can finish on a maximum of 14 points after today's loss.

Left-arm batter fails to clear long on trying to hit left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. He falls for a 37-ball 35. Add Manish Pandey's 29-ball 27 and that's a contribution of 62 in 66 balls between the two of them.

But you can't blame either batter. It is a tricky wicket and Capitals didn't help themselves by sliding to 25 for 3. There was a recovery job that was needed. (OK, you can blame Pandey a little for that Marsh run out.)

The game's final time out is in progress. Capitals need 84 in 42 with six wickets in hand. CSK are firm favourites but this season of the IPL have provided some real humdingers. Is there another one in store tonight? I, for one, am not beginning to write my match report until Axar Patel is dismissed.

Currently, it is Ripal Patel who has joined Rossouw. Axar in the dugout, with Aman Khan and Lalit Yadav still to bat. That's a lot of batting left.

With DC at 76/3 in 11 overs, Dhoni turns to his Impact Player Matheesha Pathirana. But he starts poorly, bowling a slot ball on off that Pandey deposits for six.

Despite the poor start to his spell, he is a dangerous bowler and he proves that by picking off Pandey LBW for a 29-ball 27. Ian Bishop in our ESPNcricinfo studios has a lot of time for Jr Malinga. Here's more from Bishi:

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Here's the Marsh dismissal:

Dhoni's rotating his three spinners but the Capitals' pair of Pandey and Rilee Rossouw are managing to find the odd boundary while rotating strike well. It helps that one is a right-hander and the other is not. Rossouw, for example, was very nearly caught behind off a Moeen Ali delivery turning away, but when Pandey faced Moeen, he comfortably tonked the offie over his head for a six.

This may be the recipe for success through the middle overs. Capitals 63/3 in nine overs needing another 105 in 11. ESPNcricinfo's forecaster has CSK 67% favourites at the moment.

Has Manish Pandey cost Mitchell Marsh his wicket here? Pandey tapped Tushar Deshpande to the off side, then scurried out of his crease, but then turned back. Mitchell Marsh came down the track quickly and he's got no chance getting back.

Enough time for Rahane to not even throw. He runs to the bowler's end and whips the bails off. Camera pans to a despondent Ricky Ponting in the dugout with Capitals now 26/3 in 3.4 overs

Before playing the Mumbai Indians game on May 6, Chahar had taken 0 powerplay wickets in his previous seven IPL outings dating back to October 2021.

But having taken two powerplay wickets against Mumbai, he has backed it up with two more against Delhi Capitals, removing both openers. David Warner mis-judged the slowness to be caught inside the circle in the first over, followed by Phil Salt's wicket in the third over. Chahar also nearly had Marsh LBW.

Manish Pandey is the Impact Player who replaces a DC bowler and Capitals are 21/2 in 2.4 overs Capitals need their veteran Indian batter to step up from No. 4 on a tricky pitch tonight. This also pushes Rilee Rossouw down to No. 5 for now.

Overs 1-6: 49/1 (run-rate 8.16)
Overs 7-16: 76/4 (RR 7.6)
Overs 17-20: 42/3 (RR 10.25)

ESPNcricinfo's forecaster gives Delhi Capitals a 53.5% chance of winning. Axar Patel says after the innings that it is not an easy chase but chaseable nonetheless. Says there's a little bit of dew. Will spin have the same impact in the second innings? DC's spinners bowled 11 overs, conceded 89 runs and took four wickets. Lalit was expensive with an economy of almost 12 but Axar and Kuldeep, the pro spinners, were tidier.

CSK were missing a batter who would play the long innings. They'd be disappointed that six batters crossed 20 but their highest individual score was the 25 that Dube scored. Gaikwad, Dube and Dhoni ensured they finished with a score that is somewhat challenging for Delhi Capitals.

Warner had a toss-up between Ishant and Marsh for the final over. With Ishant going for 23 runs in his first two overs, tonight Warner backs Marsh to bowl the 20th. And he does a terrific job by dismissing Jadeja early and then getting Dhoni's wicket later.

Concedes ONLY seven and CSK finish on 167/8 in 20 overs.

Dhoni is hobbling while running. But his pulled six off Khaleel has sent the crowd into a frenzy. His family is also in the crowd and they are wearing a wide smile too.

Khaleel has been going outside off to try and angle the ball away from Dhoni but he pounced on this short ball early and beautifully. Another wide ball flies off the edge to third man. And the final delivery is pumped by MSD over the bowler's head. The kind of over CSK needed - 21 off it, ruining Khaleel's figures as well.

... and that's because MS Dhoni has walked out.

Khaleel, meanwhile, continues to impress with his change ups after returning from a hamstring injury. Shows his smarts by bowling wide and forcing Rayudu to reach at it. Mistimed straight down the V and he is gone for 23. CSK 126/6 in 16.3 overs with Khaleel 1/10 in 2.3 overs!

Has David Warner bowled one over too many from Lalit Yadav? The third over goes for 21 bringing his figures to 1/38 in three overs. Two sixes from Shivam Dube, followed by a four and six from Ambati Rayudu.

Dube eventually falls to a Mitchell Marsh slower ball for 25 in 12 balls, but his impetus has now given CSK hope for a total in the region of 170-180. CSK 114/5 in 14.3 overs

The addition of Lalit Yadav instead of Manish Pandey in the bowling XI is working well for the Delhi Capitals. After bowling a quiet powerplay over, he has now got the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane thanks to his terrific catching skills. Rahane had smacked him straight back but Lalit dived to his right and took a one-handed stunner very low to the ground.

Great movement across with very little reaction time. Rahane walks back for a sluggish 21. CSK 80 for 4 in 11.3 overs with Rayudu joining Dube.

Before IPL 2023, this Chennai ground had an average spin of 3.2 degrees. This season the average has been only 2.0 degrees. Has that contributed to lesser success for CSK at home in IPL 2023? Axar and Lalit haven't really found turn either. They've just got the balls to skid into the pads, and there's a slowness in the surface.

Kuldeep Yadav, though, extracts sharp turn bowling to Moeen Ali. Gets a wide-ish full ball to turn further away and Moeen Ali has mistimed a shot to point. He's gone for a single-digit score, a third wicket for a DC spinner and CSK are 64/3 in 9.4 overs

On another note, if we don't see a lot of dew tonight, then do CSK bring in Santner as the Impact Player instead of the slingy seamer Pathirana? Santner can also extend the batting order and give CSK more batting ammo.

Coming into this game, Gaikwad had averaged 22.4 runs in the powerplay in IPL 2023 with a strike-rate of 156 (the third-best SR behind du Plessis and Jaiswal).

He's produced another such performance with 24 runs at a strike-rate of almost 145 tonight in the powerplay, getting to 24 in his first 17 balls.

But Gaikwad drops his head in disappointment after hitting Axar's first ball of the seventh over straight to long off. Axar has now removed both openers and CSK are 49 for 2 in 6.1 overs

Conway wasn't fluent today. He wasn't timing it well off the pacers and then also survived a close LBW shout off Lalit.

However, Conway does not survive a second LBW shout off Axar Patel's bowling. The left-arm spinner went full on the stumps from over the wicket, and Conway failed to get bat on ball while trying one of his favourite shots - the sweep.

CSK 32 for 1 in 4.1 overs with Conway making 10 (13). Here's Ajinkya Rahane.

Ishant Sharma's been bowling it into the pitch, which has been slow.

Khaleel Ahmed has been using the new ball to try and get some swing. And Devon Conway has edged Khaleel to the keeper in the third over, but the keeper said he didn't hear anything. Khaleel was keen to review, but he was eventually overruled by the powers that be. Conway survives and CSK are 25/0 in three overs and Lalit Yadav - the spinner - will bowl the 4th.

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Rayudu is playing his 200th IPL game tonight. But 114 of them have been for Mumbai Indians. So it is a bit fitting that Mumbai Indians' Akash Ambani has a tribute video in Rayudu's honour.

In IPL 2023, the CSK opening pair have averaged 67.8 at home, with two fifty and one century stand.

In away conditions, they average only 29.

This clears the thought process for the Capitals, to be honest. They know this partnership needs to be broken ASAP. Clarity for their bowlers.

Its a used surface, Dhoni says, so he is tempted to bat first. Rayudu in the XI. Dhoni had said Dube won't be playing, but looks like he's right there at No. 5 on the team sheet. An early error from the captain.

Capitals have brought in Lalit Yadav for Manish Pandey in their bowling XI. Warner looks confident and is smiling at the toss.

Interestingly, the dew is at 75-80% tonight, so we'll keep an eye on the CSK spinners' performance later on.

This season has provided a record number of 200+ totals, which has pushed what "par" is by 10-15 runs. The Impact Player has been a factor too. S Rajesh has dug into this topic in more detail.

But in the last 10 T20s in Chennai, the average first-innings score has been 169. The average first-innings WINNING score though is 189, so if you're batting first, you can't afford a mid-overs batting slowdown under any circumstance. Maximisation has to be the mantra for any batting team.

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