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Chennai Super Kings continued their march up the Indian Premier League table as they went top with an emphatic 18-run win over the struggling Delhi Daredevils at Chepauk on Thursday night. Chennai didn’t have it all their own way as they were in trouble at 67 for 3 after half way stage of their innings but an unbeaten 63 off just 31 balls from skipper MS Dhoni and another excellent half-century from Subramaniam Badrinath (55) took them to a formidable total 0f 176/4. It was always going to be too much of an ask for the Delhi Daredevils, who did really well to end up with 158. No one played an innings of substance for the away side with Irfan Pathan top scoring with 44 off 34 balls. The game was actually won (and lost) in the last two overs of Chennai’s innings as they scored a massive 37 with Dhoni doing most of the damage.

The Chennai Super Kings were clear favorites hosting the significantly depleted Daredevils of Delhi who without skipper Virender Sehwag looked like a team asking for a hiding. Chennai hadn’t lost a game at home this season and if they maintained that record, they would all but guarantee themselves a play-off spot. Delhi had nothing to lose but lifting themselves for this game would be a massive challenge.

Chennai won the toss and decided to bat, going in with an unchanged side. That meant Dwayne Bravo, recently drafted in from the West Indies, kept his place in the starting eleven ahead of Sri Lankan Suraj Randiv, who would be leaving soon for England. The Delhi Daredevils had a new captain in the person of James Hopes and also made two changes in the side. Andrew McDonald was included in the playing eleven while speedster Varun Aaron made his way back into the side.

Irfan Pathan gave Delhi exactly the start they needed, getting rid of Michael Hussey in the first over itself for just 5. Suresh Raina came out at no.3 and took the attack to Andrew McDonald. Murali Vijay too joined in the fun with 2 sixes in 3 balls off Ajit Agarkar, giving the home crowd lots to cheer about. But Raina (14) chanced his arm one too many times, hitting the ball straight down Pathan’s throat. Delhi could have had their third if the ball had stuck into Hopes’ hands on the last ball of the powerplay when Vijay launched into another. As things stood though, Chennai had posted 42 from the first 6 overs.

Vijay got a third life when Shahbaz Nadeem dropped him off his own bowling. He and Badrinath just knocked the ball around and tried to setup a good platform for the middle order dashers to take advantage of. Both batsmen continued in fifth gear after the powerplay and Vijay (35) couldn’t control his strokes and hit a full toss straight to Venugopal Rao at the boundary. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni came in at no.4 and looked to up the momentum smashing the ball out of the park whenever he got a chance. Chennai were making great use of the start and Badrinath too joined Dhoni in the attack. Varun Aaron though was having a terrific match as he bowled his third over having conceded just 8 runs thus far.

The 100 came up in the 15th over as Chennai tried to get a move on. Agarkar’s figures were dented slightly as Dhoni smashed consecutive boundaries off him. Aaron too was taken for 12 in his final over as Chennai went for broke. A 20 run penultimate over from Ajit Agarkar was just what the doctor ordered and Badrinath reached his 50 in the process as well. Dhoni too brought up his milestone in the final over, taking just 28 balls to get there. And though he ran Badrinath out in order to keep the strike for the last 2 balls, he made very good use of the it hitting both deliveries into the crowd. Chennai reached a formidable total of 176/4 with the help of 37 runs off the last 2 overs. The Daredevils were visibly disappointed to have leaked so many runs at the death and had their task cut out for them in an exceptionally tough chase.

Delhi needed a good start if they were to get anywhere near the target. The openers, Naman Ojha and David Warner, started by taking 13 runs off Doug Bollinger's opening over. The ball was coming nicely onto the bat and Ojha made full use of it smashing Albie Morkel for consecutive sixes in the third over. But his innings ended for a 14-ball 25 when he skied one in the same over. Colin Ingram joined Warner in the middle as the spinners started to take control. Delhi though thanks to Ojha's cameo scored 52 runs in the powerplay and needed to keep going in the same fashion in order to chase down the total.

Colin Ingram (7) had struggled to get the spinners away and his struggle ended when Dwayne Bravo grasped a spectacular catch off the bowling of Ashwin. Two excellent overs of just 2 runs apiece lifted the required rate over 10. The spinners were all over the batsmen and the pressure got the better of Warner as he holed out in the deep for 21. It was all going Chennai’s way as the boundaries dried up. Runs weren’t coming at the rate they needed them as Suresh Raina even chipped in with 4 fantastic overs for just 16 runs.

Venugopal Rao tried to take things into his own hands, picking up the odd boundaries and even hitting Shadab Jakati for a six but he was bowled soon for a well compiled 30. Pathan hit a six to light some hope of a late revival but chances of that perished when skipper James Hopes departed for 8. Pathan struck a few boundaries but the ask was way too much for him. 29 were needed from the last over and they managed just 10. Irfan Pathan remained unbeaten on 44 as Delhi finished with a respectable but insufficient 158/6 in their 20 overs.

The Chennai Super Kings moved to the top of the table with that win and are now ahead of the Mumbai Indians on net run rate, though the Indians have played a game less. With their spot in the top four confirmed, Chennai can now focus on the task of finishing in the top 2 so that they can avoid the eliminator. They have a break of a few days before they host Kochi Tuskers next Wednesday.

Delhi Daredevils on the other hand have lost their 8th game this season and the end couldn't come sooner if they tried. They do have lovely Dharamshala to look forward to though as they head to the mountains to play Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils: David Warner, Irfan Pathan, Venugopal Rao, James Hopes, Naman Ojha(wk), Colin Ingram, Yogesh Nagar, Andrew McDonald, Ajit Agarkar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Varun Aaron.

Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(c&wk), Srikantha Anirudha, Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, Doug Bollinger.

Mini Scorecard:

Chennai Super Kings 176/4 in 20 overs (8.8 runs per over)
MS Dhoni 63*(31) V Aaron 1-20
S Badrinath 55(43) I Pathan 1-40

Delhi Daredevils 158/6 in 20 overs (7.9 runs per over)
I Pathan 44*(34) R Ashwin 2-19
V Rao 30(20) D Bravo 2-21

Chennai win by 18 runs