Dhoni shines; CSK beat Delhi

CSK made no changes to their playing eleven.

DD made a couple of changes to their playing (Mork)eleven – Virender Sehwag and Morne made way for Andrew McDonald and Varun Aaron.

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

The first Powerplay of CSK’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 42, and lost a couple of wickets.

Michael Hussey, whose innings included a boundary, scored five. An over into the match, he was trapped leg be‘four’ wicket by Irfan Pathan, who broke the run-a-ball stand.

Suresh Raina, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 14. Twenty-seven balls later, he was caught by Pathan. Aaron broke the 35-run stand.

CSK scored 50 off 8.1 overs (49 balls). DC hadn’t conceded any extras at that point.

Murali Vijay, whose 33-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 35. Twenty-nine balls after Raina’s dismissal, he was caught by Venugopal Rao. Ajit Agarkar broke the 27-run stand.

CSK scored 100 off 14.2 overs (86 balls). DC hadn’t conceded any extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 35 balls. While Subramaniam Badrinath’s contribution to the partnership was 17, Dhoni’s contribution to it was 32. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

CSK scored 150 off 18.4 overs (113 balls). DC had conceded four extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

While Badrinath’s half-century – which included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six – came off 41 balls, Dhoni’s half-century – which included five boundaries and a couple of sixes – came off 28 balls.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 96. Badrinath, whose 43-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six, eventually scored 55. Fifty-six balls after Raina’s dismissal, Yogesh Nagar and Pathan ran him out.

Dhoni, whose 31-ball innings included five boundaries and four sixes, eventually scored 63. He was unbeaten, as was Wriddhiman Saha, who didn’t face a ball.

CSK scored 176 for the loss of four wickets off 20 overs.

McDonald and James Hopes (DC’s skipper) bowled a couple of wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 23, the latter conceded 16.

Shahbaz Nadeem, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 26.

Agarkar, Pathan and Aaron bowled four overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. They conceded 49, 40, and 20, respectively.

The first Powerplay of DC’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 52, and lost a wicket.

Naman Ojha, whose 14-ball innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 25. Seventeen balls into the chase, he was caught by Shadab Jakati. Albie Morkel broke the 30-run stand.

DC scored 50 off 5.1 overs (31 balls). CSK had conceded five extras at that point.

Although his 12-ball (Col)innings included a boundary, Ingram had no reason to be in seventh heaven – 26 balls after Ojha’s dismissal, he was caught by Dwayne Bravo. Ashwin broke the 24-run stand.

David Warner, whose 25-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 21. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Vijay. Bravo broke the 10-run stand.

Pathan, whose 34-ball innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 44. He was unbeaten.

DC scored 100 off 14.3 overs (87 balls). CSK had conceded a dozen extras at that point.

Rao, whose 20-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 30. Thirty-three balls after Pathan’s dismissal, Ashwin broke the 43-run stand.

Hopes, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored eight. A dozen balls later, he was caught by Hussey. Bravo broke the 20-run stand.

DC scored 150 off 19.1 overs (115 balls). CSK had conceded 14 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

McDonald had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored eight. Thirteen balls after Hopes’ dismissal, he was caught by Saha. Doug Bollinger broke the 23-run stand.

Nagar, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

DC, who scored 158 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets off 20 overs, lost by 18 runs.

Jakati, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 19. He was wicketless, as was Raina, who bowled four overs, conceding 16.

Albie, who bowled three overs, conceded 36. He picked up a wicket, as did Bollinger, who bowled four overs, conceding 38.

Bravo, who bowled three overs, conceded 21. He picked up a couple of scalps, as did Ashwin, who bowled four overs, conceding 19.