Dhawan, Shaw lead Delhi to victory against Chennai

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Captain Rishabh Pant won the battle of wicketkeepers as Delhi Capitals trumped the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League yesterday. Delhi rode on a 138-run opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan (85) and Prithvi Shaw (72) to chase down their target of 189 with eight balls and seven wickets to spare in Mumbai. The 14th edition of the most popular Twenty20 tournament is being played behind closed doors with the country witnessing a surge in the Covid pandemic. The 23-year-old Pant, who was once an understudy to Dhoni and has now cemented his role as India's premier wicketkeeper, hit the winning runs in his first outing as T20 captain. 'It was good, once you win the match everything is good, Pant said after the win. 'In the middle, I was under pressure, but good job from Avesh (Khan) and the bowlers. Returning Chennai batsman Suresh Raina, who left the team due to personal reasons ahead of last year's edition in the United Arab Emirates, top-scored with 54 as Chennai posted 188-7 after being put into bat first. Dhoni was bowled for a second-ball duck but England players Moeen Ali (36) and Sam Curran (34) contributed with the bat for three-time champions Chennai. Fast bowlers Chris Woakes and Avesh Khan claimed two wickets each. The 21-year-old Shaw, likened to Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar, exploded for last year's runners-up Delhi to extend his red hot form. Shaw, who made 72, recently topped the batting chart in India's 50-over domestic competition with 827 runs in 8 matches for winners Mumbai. Shaw, who survived two dropped catches, finally fell to Dwayne Bravo after hitting nine fours and three sixes in his 38-ball blitz. Dhawan departed after smashing 10 boundaries and two over the fence hits in his 54-ball knock. Pant, who was named captain after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of this IPL season with a shoulder injury, hit an unbeaten 15. 'He kept his calm and will only get better with time, man of the match Dhawan said of his young captain. On his knock, Dhawan said: 'I really enjoyed my batting and the way I was hitting the ball. Even Prithvi was hitting it well. I was playing the ball quite close to my body because the wicket was sticky and the ball was stopping. It was tremendous to watch Prithvi in his flow. He plays those shots effortlessly, he worked hard before this IPL. Happy that his hard work is playing off. Meanwhile, Dhoni decried his bowlers, saying that they had conceded too many boundary deliveries to allow DC openers get 138 for the first wicket. 'We could have done better [in bowling]. The batters were hitting over the top, there were some boundary deliveries, where the execution wasn't nice. But the bowlers will have learned and they will apply that in the future games, he added. Today, Sunrisers Hyderabad clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai. Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 188 for 7 in 20 overs (S Raina 54, M Ali 36, S Curran 34, R Jadeja 26 not out, C Woakes 2/18, A Khan 2/23) lost to Delhi Capitals 190 for 3 in 18.4 overs (S Dhawan 85, P Shaw 72, S Thakur 2/53) by seven wicketsMENAFN10042021000067011011ID1101896086