Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by 27 runs in an IPL 2023 match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The win has helped CSK take another step closer to the playoffs, while it has dented DC’s chances of making it to the next round.
The match started with a bit of confusion as CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat. During the toss, Dhoni announced that Ambati Rayudu would come in for Shivam Dube in the playing XI. However, when the team sheet came in, it showed that both players were included in the XI. It later became clear that Dhoni might have made a mistake in his announcement.
CSK’s official Twitter handle was quick to poke fun at the situation, posting two photos of Dhoni – one with Dube and one without – with the captions ‘Thala at practice’ and ‘Thala at toss’, respectively.
Batting first, CSK struggled to get going on a pitch where run-scoring was difficult. However, some late fireworks from Dhoni (20 off 9 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (21 off 16 balls) helped them post a decent total of 167/8. DC’s bowlers kept striking at regular intervals, with Mitchell Marsh taking three wickets and Axar Patel taking two.
In response, DC found it tough going against CSK’s spinners and could only manage 140/8 in their 20 overs. Rilee Rossouw was their top scorer with 35 off 37 balls. Matheesha Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers for CSK, taking three wickets for 37 runs.
It was a dominant performance by CSK, who moved to second in the IPL 2023 standings with the win. DC, on the other hand, is now in danger of missing out on the playoffs.
