Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of this evening's Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. Stay tuned for live commentary, updates, reactions and more!
FULL SCORECARD AND BALL-BY-BALL DETAILS
That's it from me for tonight's game and thanks for joining. Focus now shifts to Kolkata where Kolkata Knight Rider' non-strikers will remain wary as ever as Ravi Ashwin's Kings XI Punjab rolls into town tomorrow. Do join us for that. Good night.
Shane Watson is man of the match for his 26-ball 44. Here is Abhishek Mukherjee's match report from Delhi on Chennai Super Kings' all-round win.
◙ That was about it. Bravo shuffles across and pulls a delivery wide of the fine leg fielder for a four and seals the win for CSK with two balls to spare! The early onslaught by Watson and Raina led the foundation for Dhoni and Jadhav to ease themselves into the chase and close out the win without much pressure. Two wins in two for the Super Kings as it moves to the top of the table while DC suffers its first loss.
◙ Rabada dismisses Jadhav in the first ball of the over; he bowls a cross seam delivery and Jadhav guides a faint edge to Pant. Bravo swings and misses the next two balls and there is excitement all around! Two off three balls!
◙ Dhoni, finally, brings out the big one! He nails Mishra straight down the ground for a monster six! CSK needs two off the last over. CSK 146/3 after 19 overs
◙ Dhoni cuts one down to the deep-extra cover region and that should relieve some pressure for CSK fans. It's also the team's first boundary in 44 balls. CSK 137/3 after 18 overs
◙ Axar Patel concedes just a single off his final over and brings the required rate over 6 runs an over now. Some nervous campers in the CSK dugout now? Dhoni and Jadhav, both accomplished finishers, remain mind you. CSK 126/3 after 17 overs
◙ No boundaries in 27 balls, but no problem for CSK. It still requires less than a run a ball. Jadhav pulls one hard into the short mid-wicket region, where Dhawan puts down a difficult chance. CSK 120/3 after 15 overs
◙ Dhoni comes out to bat for the first time this season, edges his first ball wide of first slip for a boundary to third man. Iyer is left frustrated.
◙ WICKET! Mishra has his second; gets Raina to knick one behind to Pant, who takes a sharp catch. Raina has done his job with a 16-ball 30. CSK 98/3 after 10.2 overs.
◙ Tewatia's second over goes for 12 after Raina and Jadhav hit a six and a four of the over, respectively. CSK needs just 51 runs from the last 10 overs. CSK 97/2 after 10 overs.
Mishra continues to bowl and I seemed to have missed something in his opening over. The veteran leg-spinner seems to have hair plugs installed on his head. Will the new hair help DC put CSK in a spin? One can only hope.
◙ Watson bludgeons new bowler Amit Mishra for two sixes and brings up the 50-run partnership off just 24 balls between the duo. Vintage hitting from the pair. WICKET! ...and he is stumped the next ball! Watson goes for the big sweep dragging his back foot way out of the crease, Pant does the rest behind the wicket. Important wicket for the Capitals as the pair appeared to take the game away in only the first half of the chase. CSK 73/2 after 6.4 overs
Rabada and Watson are involved in an angry exchange for the second time now. Umpire Marais Erasmus comes in between them to diffuse the tension.
◙ 4lb, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4. Raina cuts loose against Ishant Sharma! The southpaw pulls, cuts and and slogs as CSK picks up 18 runs from the over. CSK 51/1 after 5 overs
◙ Terrific cricket out there in the middle! Hostile fast bowling from Rabada as he starts with four dot balls on the money before he strays one down the leg side. He dugs on in short which Watson top edges down to fine leg for a six! CSK 33/1 after 4 overs
◙ WICKET! Rayudu perishes! Ishant gets the breakthrough as Rayudu goes for the pull holing out into the hands of the mid-off fielder. CSK 21/1 after 2.4 overs
The last time these two sides met here in the 2018 season, Delhi won by 34 runs in what was an inconsequential game in the fight for the playoffs. Delhi scored 162 and Chennai struggled in the chase managing just 128/6 in its 20 overs. Can the Capitals tighten the screws tonight?
◙ Watson gets going against the off-spinner Axar; two boundaries on either side of the wicket. CSK 16/0 after 2 overs
◙ A steady start for CSK in the opening over of the chase. Ishant managed to get an edge of Rayudu's blade but the ball didn't carry to Dhawan at wide first slip. CSK 7/0 after 1 over
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◙ A boundary each from Axar and Tewatia takes Delhi close to the 150-run mark. It should be a challenging total on this sticky wicket. We will be back with CSK's chase. DC 147/6 after 20 overs
◙ WICKET! Another scalp for DJ bravo! Dhawan ends up top-edging a slower delivery from the West Indian high into the square leg region and Thakur, again, takes the catch clean. DC 127/6 after 17.1 overs
◙ WICKET! Jadeja fires one in straight and Keemo Paul is late to get bat on ball; the ball crashes into off stump! Amidst the middle order collapse, Dhawan gets to his 50 off 45 balls. DC 123/5 after 16.3 overs
◙ WICKET! A massive wicket for CSK! Pant whips a straight delivery from Bravo to the square leg boundary and Thakur takes a sliding catch on the run. Another WICKET! Colin Ingram hits a slower ball straight to Raina at covers. DC 122/4 after 16 overs
◙ Dhawan has quietly held fort at one end but seems to have found his arc now. He hits back-to-back boundaries off Bravo and that takes Delhi past the 100-run mark. DC 108/2 after 14 overs
◙ The dangerman Pant gets going here; a front-foot drive to the fence off Jadeja before a streaky edge down the the third man boundary off Bravo. He is also finding the gaps and run well between the wickets with Dhawan.
◙ WICKET! Tahir is smashed for two boundaries at the start of the over but he comes back well by trapping the skipper Iyer in front. He departs for a 20-ball 18. In walks Rishabh Pant ahead of Colin Ingram. DC 79/2 after 11.4 overs
◙ Iyer hits Imran Tahir, formerly of this parish, back past him for the first six of the match; first boundary in 23 balls. DC 65/1 after 10 overs
◙ Iyer and Dhawan have found it difficult to rotate the strike and find the boundary since the powerplay overs. Harbhajan and Jadeja have conceded just 12 runs in the three overs since. DC 55/1 after 9 overs
◙ Harbhajan stops in his tracks to see if the non-striker has trudged out of the crease and possibly 'mankad' him. Maybe we ought to name the dismissal after the biggest advocate of it at the moment: 'Ashwined', anyone?
◙ Chahar, as expected bowls out his four overs at the start. He finishes with 20 runs and a wicket against his name.
◙ End of the powerplay overs and CSK will be happy with the start. DC skipper Shreyas Iyer has come in and is trying to play himself in. DC 43/1 after 6 overs
◙ WICKET! Shaw makes room, Chahar follows him wide with a short ball and the youngster mistimes the ball to Shane Watson to short mid-wicket. Shaw departs for a 16-ball 24. DC 36/1 after 4.3 overs
◙ Spin is introduced in the form of Harbhajan Singh and he is welcomed by Shaw and Dhawan by depositing the veteran spinner to the fence for a boundary each. DC 35/0 after 4 overs
◙ Shikhar Dhawan gets off the mark with a boundary off the first ball, but Chahar does extremely well and follows it up with five dot balls. DC 24/0 after 3 overs
◙ Shaw gets a real liking for Shardul Thakur's pace and length. The young opener smacks him for three successive boundaries. DC 20/0 after 2 overs
◙ A good opening over from Deepak Chahar. The ball stopped on Shaw, who ballooned his shot close to the mid-off fielder. Wry smile from Chahar after that shot. Sign of things to come later in the evening? DC 8/0 after 1 over
◙ Just a couple of minutes to go for the first ball at Kotla. The Super Kings get into an huddle. Can it make it five consecutive wins in the IPL tonight? Shaw and Dhawan make their way out to the middle.
◙ Both teams go in with only three overseas players.
◙ UPDATE on Jasprit Bumrah's shoulder
The pacer has rejoined the Mumbai Indians team in Bengaluru ahead of the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore and had no discomfort while participating in the drills at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
TOSS: Delhi Capitals wins toss, to bat first. Sheyas Iyer feels the wicket will slow down in the second half of the game. Dhoni says he would have opted to bowl first.
Delhi has made one change: Amit Mishra for Trent Boult. CSK is unchanged, will go with three frontline spinners.
7:30 pm: Positive vibes in the camp says, DC skipper Iyer. CSK captain Dhoni says it will be a good wicket and will wait to see if the wicket will slow down or not.
7:22 pm: Former India captain Anil Kumble says Karn Sharma could be an option against Pant in the official broadcaster's pre-show chat. "If you are a leg spinner, you could bowl your googlies wide and not in his hitting arc." Will that ploy work against the maverick Pant?
7:16 pm: We are just a few moments away from the toss. All four matches have seen the home teams win the toss and opted to bowl first. Will the trend continue tonight?
7:10 pm: Much of the spotlight has been on Rishabh Pant and rightly so. The Delhi smasher has started the season on fire with a 27-ball 78 away to Mumbai Indians, which turned the game in the Capitals' favour. His coach Ricky Ponting feels that knock won't be a flash in the pan but a sign of what's to come this season. ( READ )
6:55 pm: Focus, however, is still on what transpired last evening in Jaipur. Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravi Ashwin 'mankaded' Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler which triggered plenty of discussion regarding the laws of the game and the spirit of cricket. Many players, former and current had strong words against Ashwin's actions. Royals' ambassador Shane Warne, in particular, was scathing in his assessment of the incident. You can follow the latest on that on our IPL home page .
6:49 pm: This is Aashin Prasad and I will be taking you through the coverage of tonight's game, which I presume has all the makings of a cracker. Delhi's exuberance of youth against Chennai's experienced campaigners. Delhi's Pant, Iyer, Shaw and Rabada against the likes of Dhoni, Watson, Harbhajan and Tahir.
6:08 pm: In the last five encounters — Delhi Capitals has won two matches against Chennai Super Kings. Pant would be the man to watch out for and Shikhar Dhawan from the Delhi camp. The wicketkeeper-batsman will play a key role in Delhi's campaign this season.
5:34 pm: This is going to be an interesting clash with both the teams having started the IPL 2019 with a bang. The Delhi Capitals, now rechristened, give an impression of playing with a purpose and Feroz Shah Kotla, its home ground an ideal venue to take on Dhoni's CSK. The Kotla track being on the sluggish side gives CSK advantage of having experienced spinners in its ranks. Not far away, will get to know the combinations soon — so folks stay tuned to this space.
Both side's come into Tuesdays tie on the back of emphatic wins. CSK cruised to a handsome seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, while DC hammered Mumbai Indians by 37 runs the next day.
FOLLOW: 2019 IPL FULL COVERAGE
Here's our reporter Abhishek Mukherjee's preview:
Delhi Capitals braces for Super Kings challenge
DC and CSK have had contrasting levels of success in the Indian Premier League, but on Tuesday, no team will be favourite as the new-look Capitals plays its first home game a day after having rolled over Mumbai Indians in a run-fest. Rishabh Pant’s awe-inspiring strokeplay may just give Capitals the psychological edge to conjure a winning run for a change. The magnitude of the win has given it the top spot in the points table.
The outfit is working hard and training well, Ricky Ponting, the Capitals head coach, revealed on Monday, and results on the field may just help it go a long distance this time. It’s early days, yet, and its resolve will be tested against another potent side, which may be vulnerable early on in the competition.
Spin, the weapon Super Kings used well to rattle Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, may well be hard to tackle on the likely low, slow track at the Ferozeshah Kotla here. Harbhajan Singh, who took three wickets in the first contest, may likely get a game again, given the numerous left-handers in the Capitals line-up.
READ: Rishabh Pant will win many more games for Delhi Capitals, says Ricky Ponting
Capitals also has a well-rounded squad this time, possessing the likes of leg-spinners Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichhane, left-arm spinner Axar Patel, and off-spinner Jalaj Saxena, to call upon. None of Super Kings’ batsmen have taken flight yet, and it might be an ideal time to disallow them from setting the tone early on.
For Shreyas Iyer, the Capitals captain, it will be an opportunity to make a mark. Iyer, who has an outside chance of making it to the World Cup, will hope to be at his attacking best after having got off to a tepid start with the bat.
Much attention will be on M. S. Dhoni, the Super Kings captain. He will like to show his prowess with the bat that lit up his team’s campaign last season. He is in good form – having made significant contributions with the bat in India’s One-Day International wins against Australia in Ranchi and Bengaluru – and well rested, too.
ALSO READ: Fleming: ‘I’d love M. S. Dhoni to carry on with CSK’
Much will be expected also from his wicketkeeping counterpart, Pant. Pant had replaced Dhoni in the ODI series for the last two contests, but couldn’t make much of an impact. Unlike Dhoni, Pant’s place is not virtually assured in the Indian squad for the World Cup, and at his home ground, he will like to carry on in the same vein as on Sunday. Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings head coach, cautioned his side against planning too much for one player, but his side will certainly be wary of Pant’s calibre.
But can he adapt to testing pitches? Ponting revealed he had matured in the last few months; his perspicaciousness will likely be tested on Tuesday, as he may be required to graft.
The match is being streamed on Hotstar .
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