Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan deflated the Chennai Super Kings bowlers as the Delhi Capitals chased down 189 runs in their first game of the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The duo stitched a 138-run opening stand off just 81 balls to take the game away from the men in yellow.
Owing to Suresh Raina's fifty on a comeback in the IPL after a one-year break and a 15-ball 34-run cameo by all-rounder Sam Curran, Chennai scored a competitive total on the Wankhede pitch, which kept on getting better as the dew came on, of 188 runs.
CSK didn't have a great start as they lost both their openers inside three overs after which Raina and Moeen Ali did the rebuilding job. After Moeen Ali got out to Ravichandran Ashwin, Raina and Ambati Rayudu counter-attacked and forged a 63-run partnership in just 32 balls.
Even though CSK lost three wickets quickly after that, a Sam Curran cameo saved the day for the men in yellow to help them finish on 188. However, little did they know what was waiting for them in the second innings.
Prithvi Shaw continuing his smashing form from the Vijay Hazare Trophy took the attack to the Chennai bowlers as Shikhar Dhawan joined the party too. The duo raced away to 65 runs in the powerplay and were coasting along nicely towards the target.
Even though Shaw was dropped twice, he marched on as he put on a display from a short-arm jab to blistering boundaries on covers, while Dhawan played his inside-out shots to perfection and those 5-6 sweep shots hitting the balls outside the off-stump towards the leg-side.
The duo brought up a 100-run partnership in just 61 balls and had taken the game away from CSK's hands. Both kept playing their shots as the Chennai bowlers didn't have any answers.
Moeen Ali finally took a catch of Prithvi to dismiss the opener at the score of 72, but he had done his job. Shardul Thakur picked wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, who got out on 85 and Marcus Stoinis, but the Capitals had the chase in control and finished the game eight balls before to get two points on the board and start their 2021 campaign in the IPL on a winning note.
