Delhi Capitals won a close match against Chennai Super Kings to reclaim the top position on the points table.
Ripal Patel replaced Steven Smith in the Delhi side while Dwayne Bravo returned to the Chennai playing XI. Chennai started their innings with a flurry of boundaries, thanks to some wayward bowling in first two overs by Anrich Nortje and Avesh Khan. Rishabh Pant introduced Axar Patel immediately, and Axar soon had Faf du Plessis caught at deep mid wicket by Shreyas Iyer. Nortje returned to dismiss Ruturaj Gaikwad, who mistimed a pull, and Chennai lost their famed openers inside the Powerplay.
Axar picked up Moeen Ali in his second over. Robin Uthappa’s dismissal in the next over, off R. Ashwin, saw Chennai slip 62/4. Eventually, Ambati Rayudu and M.S. Dhoni took control, and ensured that no fall of wickets in next few overs and looked to rotate the strike.
Only 39 runs were scored between the 9th and 17th overs. Rayudu hit three fours in this period, but runs mostly came in singles. Dhoni failed to push the run rate, and eventually some big shots from Rayudu helped Chennai add 28 in the 18th and 19th overs. Rayudu hit two fours fours and 2 sixes in these two overs to reach his second fifty of the season.
Dhoni was caught behind off the first ball of the 20th over. His 27-ball innings yielded just 18 runs without a boundary. A good over from Avesh restricted Chennai just 136/5.
Prithvi Shaw started the chase in a blistering fashion, hitting 4 fours in the 10 balls he faced. However, Deepak Chahar continued his excellent run against Shaw by dismissing the latter for the sixth time in IPL history. Shikhar Dhawan looked hit two fours and two sixes in the fifth over, off Chahar. The over went for 21. But Josh Hazlewood picked up Shreyas Iyer in the next over, for 2.
Chennai looked the stronger team in the middle overs. Their spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen, stopped the run flow. Jadeja also dismissed Pant and the debutant Ripal, who looked good in his brief innings of 18 but lost his wicket while trying to accelerate.
However, Shardul Thakur scalped two wickets in the 15th over to add more drama to the chase. He first got Ashwin, then had a caught-behind decision against Dhawan in his favour, only to be overturned by DRS. But he had the last laugh, having Dhawan caught at cover off the last ball of the same over. Dhawan’s dismissal for 39 put DC on 99/6. They needed 38 in five overs.
Shimron Hetmyer and Axar built an important partnership. Hetmyer took risks as Axar was content to play second fiddle. Hetmyer was lucky to be dropped by substitute fielder Krishnappa Gowtham, and his six in the 19th over sealed the match. Bravo bowled only the 18th and the 20th overs. He even got Axar in the final over, but could not stop Kagiso Rabada from stealing the winning run with a flick to fine leg boundary.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 136/5 in 20 overs (Rayudu 55*; Axar 2-18) lost to Delhi Capitals 139/7 in 19.4 overs (Dhawan 39; Thakur 2-13) by 3 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Axar Patel.