Delhi Capitals registered their first Tata IPL 2024 victory as they defeated formidable Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs in match 13 at Visakhapatnam Stadium on Sunday. DC Skipper Rishabh pant, who made the comeback to competitive cricket after a miraculous rehabilitation following the near-death car crash in 2022 was the man on mission today. Winning the toss, Pant decided to bat first and the openers understood the assignment.

Both David Warner (52 off 35) and Prithvi Shaw (43 off 27) gave a blazing start to DC at their adopted second home in Vizag. Skipper Pant also smashed a half-century in 32 deliveries. The hosts put a competitive total of 191 on the board. For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana was the most successful bowler. He picked three wickets. He also displayed superman-like fielding as he took a brilliant catch of Warner. Such was the fielding that even Warner was stunned!  

A target of 192 may seem to be a bit easy for a team that boasts a batting lineup that include Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, DC bowlers made the visitors pay for the overconfidence. And CSK lost two wickets in quick succession.

Rahane stayed in the middle for quite some time keeping CSK in the hunt. But Mukesh Kumar’s ace bowling attack destroyed CSK’s threatening batting lineup. Then came Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Batting for the first time since the IPL 2023 final match, Dhoni turned back the clock and how. Thala’s vintage show charmed the audience.

The roar was going through the roof at Vizag. But Dhoni’s stellar cameo of 37 runs from 16 balls couldn’t save CSK. In the end, DC posted their first win of the season. Dhoni’s wife Sakshi took to Instagram to post a cheeky message saying “Hi there MS Dhoni! Didn’t realise we lost the game.”    

Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals score card

Chennai Super Kings innings

  • Ruturaj Gaikwad c Pant b Ahmed 1
  • Rachin Ravindra c Stubbs b Ahmed 2
  • Ajinkya Rahane c Warner b Mukesh 45
  • Daryl Mitchell c&b Axar 34
  • Shivam Dube c Stubbs b Mukesh 18
  • Sameer Rizvi c Ahmed b Mukesh 0
  • Ravindra Jadeja (not out) 21
  • MS Dhoni (not out) 37
  • Extras (LB-4, NB-1, W-8) 13
  • Total (For 6 wickets, 20 overs) 171
  • Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-7, 3-75, 4-102, 5-102, 6-120.
  • Bowling: Khaleel Ahmed 4-1-21-2, Ishant Sharma 3-0-23-0, Anrich Nortje 4-0-43-0, Axar Patel 3-0-20-1, Rasikh Salam 2-0-25-0, Mitchell Marsh 1-0-14-0, Mukesh Kumar 3-0-21-3.

Delhi Capitals innings

  • Prithvi Shaw c Dhoni b Jadeja 43
  • David Warner c Pathirana b Mustafizur Rahman 52
  • Rishabh Pant c Gaikwad b Pathirana 51
  • Mitchell Marsh b Pathirana 18
  • Tristan Stubbs b Pathirana 0
  • Axar Patel not out 7
  • Abishek Porel not out 9
  • Extras: (B-2, LB-2, NB-2, W-5) 11
  • Total: ( For 5 wickets in 20 overs) 191
  • Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-103, 3-134, 4-134, 5-178.
  • Bowling: Deepak Chahar 4-0-42-0, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-24-0, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-47-1, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-43-1, Matheesha Pathirana 4-0-31-3.

(With PTI inputs)