Dhoni delighted; CSK beat Delhi

DD made one change to their playing eleven – Rajat Bhatia made way for Manoj Tiwary.

CSK (Shar)made four Cha(mara)nges to the playing (Pat)eleven – Parthiv, Srikkanth Anirudha, Joginder and Makhaya Ntini made way for Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Kapugedera, Palani Amarnath and Twenty20 debutant Lakshmipathy Balaji.    

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK’s skipper and the player of the match, chose to field.

The first Powerplay of CSK’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 50, and lost a couple of wickets.

Virender Sehwag, DD’s skipper, scored 23. His 18-ball innings included three boundaries. Five overs into the match, Manpreet Gony broke the 45-run stand.

De Villiers, who faced A Ball, didn’t get off the mark. A couple of balls later, Albie Morkel broke the one-run stand.

DD scored 50 off 5.4 overs (36 balls). CSK had conceded three extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 33 balls. While Gautam Gambhir’s contribution to the partnership was 22, Shikhar Dhawan’s contribution to it was 24. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was four.

DD scored 100 off 11.5 overs (73 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave CSK no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Gambhir’s half-century – which included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six – came off 35 balls.

The third-wicket pair put on 100 off 33 balls. While Gambhir’s contribution to the partnership was 55, Dhawan’s contribution to it was 39. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was nine.

DD scored 150 off 16.5 overs (103 balls). CSK had conceded a dozen extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Gambhir, whose 49-ball innings included 11 boundaries and a six, eventually scored 80. Seventy-six balls after de Villiers’ dismissal, he was caught by Kapugedera. Balaji broke the 121-run partnership.

Dhawan’s half-century – which included five boundaries and a couple of sixes – came off 40 balls.

He eventually scored 59 off 46 balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries, in addition to the aforementioned number of sixes. Five balls after Gambhir’s dismissal, he was caught by Kapugedera. Morkel broke the eight-run stand.

Shoaib Malik, who faced three balls, scored a couple. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Suresh Raina. Balaji broke the one-run stand.

Dinesh Karthik, whose three-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten, as was Tiwary, who scored five. His two-ball innings included a boundary.

DD scored 187 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs.

Kapugedera bowled a wicketless over, conceding 15.

Amarnath bowled three wicketless overs, conceding 35.

Muttiah Muralitharan bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 25.

Gony bowled four overs, conceding 36. He picked up a wicket.

Morkel and Balaji bowled four overs, conceding 35, each. They picked up a couple of scalps apiece.

The first Powerplay of CSK’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 62, without the loss of a wicket.

CSK scored 50 off 5.2 overs (32 balls). DD had conceded a couple of extras at that point. While Vidyut’s contribution to the partnership was 40, Stephen Fleming’s contribution to it was 10.

Vidyut, whose 23-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six, didn’t add to the aforementioned score. Thirty-seven balls into the chase, he was caught by Dhawan. Pradeep Sangwan broke the 62-run partnership.

Fleming, whose 28-ball innings included seven boundaries, eventually scored 44. Twenty balls later, he was caught by de Villiers. Mohammad Asif broke the 35-run stand.

Raina, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Four balls later, he was caught by Tiwary. Sangwan broke the one-run stand.

CSK scored 100 off 11 overs (66 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave DD no reason to be in seventh heaven.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 40. Morkel, whose 15-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and three sixes, scored 30. Twenty-four balls after Raina’s dismissal, Sehwag ran him out.

CSK scored 150 off 16.2 overs (98 balls). DD had conceded nine extras at that point.

Dhoni, whose run-a-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 33. Twenty-four balls after Raina’s dismissal, he was caught by de Villiers. Yo Mahesh broke the 28-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Kapugedera, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. The next ball, he was caught by Dhawan off the bowling of Yo Mahesh.

Subramaniam Badrinath and Gony were unbeaten. They faced five balls, including a boundary, apiece. While the former scored eight, the latter – whose innings also included a six – scored 13.

DD eventually conceded 11 extras. CSK, who scored 188 for the loss of half-a-dozen extras off 20 overs, won by four wickets.

Sehwag and Malik bowled a couple of wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 30, the latter conceded 28.

Glenn McGrath bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 23.

Asif bowled four overs, conceding 33. He picked up a wicket apiece.

Yo Mahesh and Sangwan bowled four overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 40, the latter conceded 29.