The Chennai Super Kings have been thumped yet again by the Delhi Capitals franchise as Shikhar Dhawan notched up his maiden hundred in IPL history. Chennai Super Kings had it all under control until the last over where MS Dhoni made a shocking decision to hand over the ball to Ravindra Jadeja instead of Dwayne Bravo, a gamble played by Dhoni didn’t really pay off in the end as Delhi Capitals won the match with a ball to spare.
It all started at the toss as Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Delhi Capitals went in with an unchanged playing XI whereas Chennai Super Kings made one change as they brought in Kedar Jadhav for the leg spinner Piyush Chawla in view of playing an extra batsman in the side.
Chennai Super Kings Suffer Another Defeat
Batting first Chennai Super Kings got off to a horror start as they lost Sam Curran in the very first over. After which Du Plessis and Shane Watson put up an 87 run partnership for the second. This came to an end when Kagiso Rabada dismissed Faf Du Plessis to become the fastest bowler to reach 50 wickets in the history of the Indian Premier League. Following which Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja helped Chennai Super Kings post a target of 179 against Delhi Capitals.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals batting the first second got off to a bad start as Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for a duck by Deepak Chahar. After which it was Rahane who joined Shikhar Dhawan at the crease but then again Ajinkya Rahane’s poor run in the IPL this season as he was dismissed for mere 8 runs. Shikhar Dhawan was then joined by Skipper Shreyas Iyer who was looking wobbly as he was struggling to run since he was battling through an injury he sustained while fielding.
In the aftermath, both Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis lost their wicket as Shikhar Dhawan kept running out of partners. In the end, Shikhar Dhawan completed his maiden IPL hundred as Axar Patel finished things off in style as he smashed Jadeja for three sixes in the final over to seal the deal.
I Keep My Mindset Positive, I Don’t Think a lot – Shikhar Dhawan
The man of the match of today’s match between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings was Shikhar Dhawan for his unbeaten 101 off 58 deliveries. At the post-match presentation, Shikhar said that the hundred is very special for him since he has been playing the league for 13 years and after a long wait of 13 years he’s finally scored an IPL hundred. He wasn’t satisfied with his performance early on in the tournament since he wasn’t able to convert the 20s and 30s into fifties.
“It’s very special (first IPL ton). Playing for 13 years, so very special. Really happy. At the start of the tournament, I was hitting the ball but I wasn’t converting the 20s or 30s into fifties. Once you start doing that, you get more confidence. I just want to continue the same form and make the most of it,” Shikhar Dhawan said.
He further added how he worked on his fitness during the lockdown in India as it is now helping him keep a positive mindset while playing the sport. Dhawan revealed that he follows a few strategies and decides them based on the pitch.
“I keep my mindset positive, I don’t think a lot. Of course, I do have a few strategies according to pitch. I feel I have courage. It (fitness) is very important. Luckily, I was able to work a lot on my routine due to this long break we had due to Corona,” he added.