IPL 2023 Live Report - Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings

You'd think a top two spot is more or less assured, unless of course LSG beat KKR by 97 runs or more to surge ahead on Net Run Rate. PS: This margin applies to scores in the range of 160-200.

With absolutely not much left in it for the Capitals, Maheesh Theekshana who has blown hot and cold this season comes into the game with a few confidence-boosting strikes. He dismisses the Yadavs - Lalit and Kuldeep - off consecutive deliveries in the final over, but is heartbreakingly denied a hat-trick. An lbw appeal that is turned down stays that way as CSK take the DRS. Replays confirm the ball has pitched outside leg.

Off the next delivery, Theekshana is confident he's dismissed Sakariya only for the batter to review the decision this time and get away with it. Smiles all around nonetheless as CSK win big and enter the playoffs.

The supremely-talented Matheesha Pathirana, who Dhoni trusts enough in the death overs, delivers again.

He has deceived Warner with an off-cutter. He's too early into the stroke and ends up dragging it across the line to long-on. Ruturaj Gaikwad makes the catch possible by anticipating early before running in and putting a full-length divd forward.

Warner won't get 100, but finishes with 86. He struggled for fluency early on, but made up for that as the innings progressed.

More than the sequence, it's Warner's audacity that's been a standout. Jadeja keeps firing it away from his hitting arc thinking he'll slog one across the line, but Warner outfoxes him by switch-hitting him behind deep backward point for six. Warner changed his stance just as Jadeja delivered and quickly set himself up nice and low to generate enough power to clear the ropes. It's a 23-run over but doesn't in anyway have CSK fretting. DC need 117 off 42.

Warner goes after Jadeja's slotballs to muscle him in a 14-run over, but that's still below DC's asking rate with 12 overs remaining. He brings up a 32-ball half-century, but soon sees Yash Dhull run down the track and slice Jadeja to short third in the same over. Axar Patel, DC's second-best batter arguably this season, comes in having no option but to go for broke.

Dhoni standing up to the stumps may have prevented Phil Salt from stepping out, and in trying to loft a cutter through the line, he ends up toe-ending one straight to Rahane at cover. Next ball, Chahar digs it into the surface and Rossouw is done in by the slowness as he chops on. DC under the pump straightaway.

Two teammates who play for much of the year together for the same state side are up against each other. Deshpande wins the bragging rights as Shaw drills one to a diving Rayudu at mid-off. Deshpande thumps his chest. Rayudu, subbed out for so many games, has a look of disbelief. Capitals 6/1 in 2 overs.

No Dhoni fireworks tonight, but Jadeja did enough damage in the seven balls he faced; hitting three fours and a six. CSK finish with 223 for 3 in 20 overs.

It's the earliest he's walked out to bat in terms of batting number this season. With just two overs left, he promotes himself ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, but Conway's dismissal for 87 two balls in brings him in anyway. Jadeja starts by muscling Nortje for six and then cheekily scythes a boundary behind point to get up and running immediately. CSK 207/3 in 19 overs.

Four fours and two six have been hit in the two overs since his dismissal for 79. Shivam Dube has earned a promotion. Conway has scored a bulk of those runs as he charges towards a century.

Seam, no problem.
Swing, no problem.
Spin, no problem.
Short into the hip at 145 click, too easy bro.

He was the early aggressor but quietly slipped into a support role as Gaikwad went after the bowling. But with the death overs looming, Conway decides it's a good time for him to go too. And after all those overs of spin, Capitals bring back Khaleel and he's welcomed with a nonchalant whip for six that brings up his fifty. CSK on the charge, 140/0 in 14 overs.

Axar bowled short and got hit for two sixes. Kuldeep goes full and goes for 6,6,6 as Gaikwad goes downtown. Kuldeep's wondering what he's done wrong. He hasn't; he's tried to buy a wicket by deceiving Gaikwad in flight, but it's just a case of the batter being too good on the day.

The only reason why he was encouraged to throw it up is because in his previous over, he nearly had Gaikwad as he tried to play a slog sweep to a googly. Luckily for Gaikwad, the ball lobbed just over short cover off the leading edge.

Axar has seen Ruturaj loft him effortlessly inside-out over extra cover, so tries to tuck him up by bowling short and into the body. But Ruturaj is a step ahead of Axar in transferring weight back to wallop him for two maximums. Also brings up his fifty off just 37 balls. CSK 87/0 in 10 overs.

An off-colour Khaleel is replaced by Anrich Nortje, but the treatment is no different. Without slogging or playing a shot out of desperation, Conway pinches two fours through authentic strokes.

When Nortje bowled into the body, Conway superbly got inside the line to tickle it past short fine. As a response to that, he went full next and saw Conway thump him down the ground past mid-off.

Devon Conway hits the 1000th six of the season as CSK get off the blocks quickly. Four boundaries and a six already in the first three overs. Lalit Yadav was brought in, potentially, in line with their match-up of bowling an offspinner to a left-hander, but he concedes 13 off his first.

Already this appears to be a surface where hitting through the line may not be all that easy. It's two-paced and Khaleel has already tried to bowl a lot of deliveries into the surface. But the moment he's bowled full or short, he's been put away quickly. Important for batters to calibrate quickly what a good score is.

The applause when Dhoni walked towards Danny Morrison with the mic was quite something. There was a good 15-seconds of nothing said as they waited for the applause to die down.

"Wicket seems hard, but it may slow down as the game progresses. Day game, heat could be a factor, so that's why we're batting first," reasons MS Dhoni as he announces an unchanged XII,

Chennai Super Kings XII: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana

"Today, it's all about trying to spoil CSK's party," announces David Warner. "Match-ups are important for us in this game and we've made changes accordingly."

Delhi Capitals XI: David Warner (c), Yash Dhull, Phil Salt (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Aman Khan, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Anrich Nortje

We think Prithvi Shaw will come in as the Impact Sub. The others are: Mukesh Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel, Abishek Porel