New Delhi: Legendary skipper MS Dhoni yet again finished it off in style to power Chennai to a four-wicket win over heavyweights Delhi in IPL 2021 Qualifier 1 on Sunday at Dubai International Stadium. Chennai Super Kings are now in the ninth IPL final. Fans were left a bit surprised when Dhoni came out to bat ahead of in-form Jadeja but Dhoni, the finisher, scored 12 runs in final over to hunt down the 173-run target and secure a final berth for the yellow army.
Apart from Dhoni's heroics, veteran Robin Uthappa (63) and young star opener Ruturaj Gaikwad's 100-run partnership for the second wicket had set the tone for chase. Delhi bowlers came up with a spirited bowling performance today but it was not enough to stop the "mighty Mahi" from taking his side home!
Apart from the Delhi bowlers, Shreyas Iyer provided two important wickets to Delhi within two overs - a sensational run-out and a brilliant catch while fielding.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings, who have a 100 percent winning record while batting second this season, opted to bowl first against Delhi. CSK bowlers were brilliant with the ball in the starting overs as Delhi had lost four wickets for 80 runs in 11 overs but excellent recovery from batters Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer pulled them back into the game.
DC opener Prithvi Shaw emerged as the star among top-order batsmen as he shined with a brilliant 60-run innings after Hazlewood took out both Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan inside the powerplay overs. After his dismissal, Pant and Hetmyer stitched a solid 83-run stand to help Delhi put a strong 1st innings total on board.
Delhi Capitals playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tom Curran, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
Chennai Super Kings playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood