Dubai, Sep 25: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to come down the order yet again backfired as Delhi Capitals rode on Prithvi Shaw's fluent fifty and a disciplined bowling effort to inflict a 44-run defeat on Chennai Super Kings, their second straight loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 here on Friday (September 25).
Young Shaw struck a fluent half-century and shared a 94-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan to guide Delhi Capitals to 175 for three. Shaw made 64 off 43 balls in the company of Dhawan (35 off 27 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) to provide a superb start to DC's innings after being put into bat.
IPL SPECIAL SITE | IPL 2020: CSK v DC Match 7 Highlights: Prithvi Shaw, bowers shine in big Delhi win
While defending, Delhi Capitals made full use of CSK's lacklustre batting performance to register their second consecutive win of the tournament, which took them to the top of the points table.
CSK skipper Dhoni did not push himself up the order on Friday, given the expectations after his decision to hold himself back in the game against Rajasthan Royals backfired, which meant the veteran again did not have enough time and balls to take his side home.
We keep going 💪🔥 pic.twitter.com/cxqQlEfG1Q
— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) September 25, 2020
IPL 2020: CSK vs DC: Prithvi Shaw punishes after MS Dhoni's failure to use DRS
Coming in at No.6 in the 16th over with 78 runs needed from 4.2 overs while chasing 176, Dhoni could only make 15 runs (12 balls, 2 fours) in what was a below-par performance from the two-time champions.
South African Faf du Plessis was the top-scorer with 43 while his compatriots Kagiso Rabada (3 for 26) and Anrich Nortje (2 for 21) shone with the ball to fashion a memorable win for Delhi Capitals.
MS Dhoni dives more than 8 feet towards his right, takes a spectacular catch to dismiss Shreyas Iyer
CSK's veteran opener Murali Vijay's struggle continued as he could make only 10 (off 15 balls) for a third straight failure. Fellow opener Shane Watson fell while attempting to break the shackles, caught in the deep by Shimron Hetmyer off Axar Patel, unable to capitalise on a reprieve by Shaw.
#CSK are one of the marquee teams of the #Dream11IPL. The tournament needs them to come back strongly & show more intent at the top. The return of Rayudu will be an important factor & they must ask more of Jadeja. With a decent start and Dhoni at No 4/5 things could be different
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 25, 2020
With the asking rate climbing up, Du Plessis could not force the pace against a disciplined DC bowling attack with the spin duo of Amit Mishra (4-0-23-0) and Axar Patel (4-0-18-1) keeping the CSK batsmen on a tight leash.
IPL 2020: MS Dhoni dives more than 8 feet towards his right, takes a spectacular catch
Young Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) and Kedar Jadhav (26 from 21 balls) could not provide the much-needed thrust as CSK's woes continued.
Earlier, Shaw and Dhawan started slowly, scoring just 36 runs of the first six overs of powerplay before opening up to stitch 94 runs for the opening wicket in 10.4 overs.
Shaw, who began by hitting two consecutive boundaries off Deepak Chahar in the first over of the match, didn't appear to rush things and played some attractive shots. Once the CSK skipper Dhoni introduced the spin duo of Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja in the seventh over, both Shaw and Dhawan went on the offensive.
We're missing some key players. Our batting line up is without Ambati Rayudu & Suresh Raina. We're trying to find a wider combination on how to use players: Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming on being asked 'where is CSK going wrong in constructing its run chases' #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/E4YGClaBGG
— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2020
Chawla, who was taken apart by Sanju Samson in their previous game against Rajasthan Royals, came in for some rough treatment as did Jadeja who went wicketless in his four overs (0/44).
Dhawan after playing second fiddle for a while, joined the party and hit a couple of attractive boundaries and slogged Jadeja's first ball for a six over mid-wicket. The DC openers hammered 58 in the next 4.4 overs after the slow start. Chawla broke the dangerous-looking partnership by removing both Dhawan and Shaw in consecutive overs.
Rishabh Pant (37 not out, 25 balls) and captain Shreyas Iyer (26, 22 balls) pushed the scoreboard along before the latter was caught by a diving Dhoni off Sam Curran as CSK managed to pull things back.