Nothing went Chennai Super Kings’ way and they were completely outplayed by the Delhi Daredevils, who displayed an all-round performance, in Raipur by six wickets.
The Daredevils chased down a paltry 120-run target with 20 balls to spare, despite reeling at 24/2 initially in the chase. But, there was not enough total on the board to defend for the Super Kings.
Shreyas Iyer starred with the bat for the Daredevils and scored an unbeaten half-century, while Yuvraj Singh also played well and hinted of regaining the lost form.
Ishwar Pandey kept it tight initially by picking two quick wickets, but Yuvraj and Iyer played the spinners well to ensure a consolation win for the Daredevils in the tournament.
Earlier, MS Dhoni elected to bat first, but his decision back-fired when the Super Kings were off to a very slow start. They failed to accelerate in the middle overs and could only manage to post 119 on the board.
Zaheer Khan was the star performer for the Daredevils, giving just 6 runs in his four overs and picking wickets of Dhoni and in-form Brendon McCullum.
“We got off to a horrible start,” Dhoni said. “We got under 20 in the first six and from there it was difficult. We picked early wickets and dropped a catch. The bowlers offered width but we did not have enough runs on the board.
“We did not have practice sessions,” he added. “They played a game here and knew what length to bowl. We have done well and try to take some positives if there are any. We have to be keep moving forward.
“We have to see how the wicket it. What’s important is to finish one or two in the table. If we can’t maybe we will give a chance to Huseey before the playoffs.”
