IPL: Super Kings fall well short as Daredevils spring a surprise
Delhi Daredevils claimed just their fourth win of the Indian Premier League season as they upset high-flying Chennai Super Kings on Friday.
Ambati Rayudu made 50 but the Super Kings missed the chance to move level with leaders Sunrisers Hyderabad at the top of the table, slipping to a surprise 34-run defeat on their travels.
Out of the running for a play-off berth, the Daredevils posted 162-5 at the famous Feroz Shah Kotla thanks mainly to some late hitting from Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel.
The pair combined to share an unbroken sixth-wicket stand worth 65 to make sure the early work done by Rishabh Pant, who made 38 from 26 deliveries, did not go to waste.
Rayudu led Chennai’s chase, the India international slamming four sixes in his 29-ball knock, but the rest of the Super Kings’ power-packed batting line-up struggled on a slow surface.
Patel completed a fine all-round display with 1-23, while there were two wickets apiece for leg-spinner Amit Mishra and New Zealand seamer Trent Boult, as Delhi enjoyed a rare outing to remember in an otherwise forgettable campaign.
A victory of the highest order!#DilDilli #Dhadkega #DDvCSK pic.twitter.com/1d0NaUb9wJ
— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) May 18, 2018
BRAVO GOES THE DISTANCE
The star turn for the disappointing Daredevils in 2018, young wicketkeeper-batsman Pant pushed through the 600-run barrier for the tournament as he hit three fours and two sixes.
Lungi Ngidi dismissed both Shreyas Iyer and Pant in the same over, the South Africa paceman picking up 2-14 from three overs in just his fourth appearance this year for Chennai.
Glenn Maxwell – one of only three overseas players picked by the hosts – failed again, the Australian dismissed for a fifth successive single-figure score, and Delhi looked in a spot of bother at 97-5.
However, Shankar and Patel both made 36 not out to provide some much-needed impetus in the closing overs, including taking 26 off the last as Dwayne Bravo went the distance four times.
Harshal Patel’s cameo (36 off 16) has allowed @DelhiDaredevils to come back into the game and they have posted a challenging 162/5. Can they defend this now? #DDvCSK #VIVOIPL
Details – https://t.co/1ZUDd5XKSx pic.twitter.com/Ytwf9lom8s
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2018
POSITIVE SPIN FOR DELHI
Chennai knew a win would secure a top-two finish at the end of the round-robin stage, yet their batting lacked purpose as they fell comfortably short of their target.
Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni all laboured while at the crease, with the latter’s dismissal to Boult at the end of the 18th over ending any slim hopes of victory.
Nepalese teenager Sandeep Lamichhane and wily veteran Mishra – two leg-spinners at the opposite ends of their careers – suffocated the below-par Super Kings, who finished up on 128-6.
They will hope to put in an improved display before the play-offs when they face Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, while Delhi complete their fixtures on the same day with a game against Mumbai Indians.
