Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals in the 12th Indian Premier League (IPL) match by six wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Tuesday.
Chasing a target of 148, Chennai faced an early dent as fast bowler Ishant Sharma struck Ambati Rayudu cheaply for five.
Suresh Raina joined Shane Watson in the middle knowing the task at hand was an easy one. The duo smashed regular boundaries and stitched a 52-run partnership. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra registered his 50 wickets at the venue as Watson (44) was stumped off Rishabh Pant.
Pant made no mistake as he caught behind Raina, who added a quick 18-ball 30. Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni in the middle joined 48 runs to almost take Chennai over the line.
However, as the visitors required two runs to seal their victory, Jadhav (27) was caught behind by Pant. Dwayne Bravo finished off the game with a stylish boundary, while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 32.
Earlier, Delhi had a sluggish start after opting to set the target. Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan cautiously opened the scoreboard with occasional boundaries.
Shaw (24), who seemed settled to open his arms, tried to play a big shot but ended up giving a catch to Shane Watson off pacer Deepak Chahar's delivery. Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer resumed to steady the innings but got lbw off leg-spinner Imran Tahir, bringing the wicketkeeper-batsman Pant in the picture.
Pant, who started this IPL on a high note, could only add a quick 13-ball 25 before getting dismissed off pacer Bravo. The left-handed batsman gave a catch to Shardul Thakur, who completed the formality on the slide.
The lone warrior Dhawan (51) saw the falling of Colin Ingram (2) and Keemo Paul for a duck before losing his wicket, which proved a turning point.
Axar Patel and Rahul Tewatia in the middle stretched the scoreboard with their unbeaten 9 and 11, respectively, to give some respect to the total and posted 147 for the loss of six.
Delhi will next meet Kolkata Knight Riders on March 30 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, while Chennai will clash with Rajasthan Royals on March 31 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 150/4 (SR Watson 44, MS Dhoni 32, SK Raina 30, A Mishra 2-35) beat Delhi Capitals 147/6 (S Dhawan 51, RR Pant 25, PP Shaw 24, DJ Bravo 3-33) by 6 wickets.
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