Chennai Super Kings (CSK) thrashed Delhi Capitals by 80 runs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
With this win, CSK has moved on to the top of the league standings with 18 points whereas Delhi Capitals are placed at the second position with 16 points.
Chasing a challenging score of 180, Delhi got off to the worst start possible as they lost their opener Prithvi Shaw (4) in the very first over. He was dismissed by Deepak Chahar.
Shikhar Dhawan along with skipper Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings for Delhi and the duo stitched together a 48-run stand. But Harbhajan Singh cut short Dhawan's (19) resistance as he clean bowled him in the fifth over.
The big-hitting Rishabh Pant (5) also failed to leave a mark as he was dismissed pretty early by Imran Tahir. Colin Ingram (1) also fell cheaply off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja reducing Delhi 66 for four.
CSK kept scalping wickets and with Iyer's (44) dismissal in the 12th over it was just a matter of time for Delhi and in the end, Chennai easily secured a win by 80 runs.
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Earlier, knocks of 59 and 44* respectively by Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni enabled CSK to post 179 runs on the board for the loss of four wickets in the allotted twenty overs.
Delhi bowlers maintained a tight grip initially, not allowing the batsmen to free their arms. Chennai was able to score just three runs in the opening three overs and the pressure finally got to Shane Watson (0) as he was dismissed by Jagadeesha Suchith. The batsman was looking to score a boundary but he just managed to find the fielder at deep mid-wicket.
Raina and Faf du Plessis retrieved the innings for Chennai and they staged an 83-run partnership bringing the hosts back into the match. But their resistance was cut short as both du Plessis (39) and Raina (59) were dismissed in quick succession. Faf was dismissed by Axar Patel whereas Raina was dismissed by Suchith.
Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja gave some firepower to the team in the death overs and stitched together a partnership of 43 runs of just 22 balls to take the team past the 140-run mark. Jadeja (25) perished in the penultimate over but Dhoni kept on going on his merry way enabling the team to post a challenging total in front of the visitors.
Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu remained unbeaten on 44 and 5 respectively.
Delhi Capitals will next play against Rajasthan Royals on May 4 whereas Chennai Super Kings will take on Kings XI Punjab on May 5.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 179/4 (S Raina 59, F du Plessis 39, J Suchith 2-28) defeat Delhi Capitals 99/10 (S Iyer 44, S Dhawan 19, I Tahir 4-12) by 80 runs.