| 3.2 : 3.2: J Suchith to S Watson, OUT! Straight to the man! There is only one man in the vast real estate on the leg side. And Watson has demonstrated excellent coaching skills with this catching practice drill. Short and outside off, Watto rocks back and pulls it away but the ball does not come on to the bat that well, nor does it bounce much. Hence, there is not much elevation either. It goes flat and straight to Axar Patel at deep mid-wicket who is waiting for it patiently. So the choke works. Chen |
| 4.2: C Morris to du Plessis, FOUR! First boundary of the match and it releases the pressure for Chennai. Poor delivery from Morris. Full toss on leg, du Plessis flicks it towards fine leg for a boundary. |
| 4.6 : 4.6: C Morris to S Raina, FOUR! Risky shot from Suresh Raina. Bowls it on a length and outside off, Raina looks to play away from the body but gets an outside edge. It goes towards third man for a boundary. 10 runs have come from the over. A much-needed over for Chennai. |
| 5.4 : 5.4: A Patel to S Raina, FOUR! A rare boundary. Not that bad a ball, fractionally short in length, but that is enough for Raina. He picks it up in a trice, goes back and punches it between cover and point. |
| 5.5 : 5.5: A Patel to S Raina, FOUR! Off balance but gets runs! Full and fired down the leg side, Raina gets down to sweep, loses balance but manages to get it past short fine leg for another boundary! |
| 6.1 : 6.1: J Suchith to S Raina, FOUR! CARESSED! Welcome into the attack, mate! Full and outside off, plenty of flight, Raina leans and drives it through the covers for a boundary! |
| 8.2 : 8.2: C Morris to S Raina, FOUR! THRASH! Raina is looking in solid touch so far. 29 from 17 so far. A length ball, around middle, Raina backs away and then hammers it straight back over the bowler's head. Mid on has no chance. |
| 8.5 : 8.5: C Morris to du Plessis, FOUR! 50 up for Chennai. Morris is leaking runs here. A short ball, down the leg side, Faf swivels and pulls it to the fine leg fence! 1.5-0-19-0 so far for the South African all-rounder. |
| 11.6 : 11.6: A Mishra to S Raina, FOUR! Another rare boundary. Full and down the leg side, Raina gets down and sweeps it over a leaping Chris Morris at short fine leg. The South African leapt to his right but in vain. |
| 12.3 : 12.3: S Rutherford to du Plessis, SIX! THUMP! There comes the first six of the innings and for the first time tonight, the run rate goes above 6! A length ball outside off, Faf du Plessis backs away to the leg side, spots the change in pace and smacks it over extra cover! Faf moves to 31 from 36 balls and this stand is now picking up - 74 from 55 deliveries. |
| 13.2 : 13.2: A Patel to du Plessis, SIX! 'CATCH IT WITH A DIVE!' screams Simon Doull on air, to Lisa Sthalekar. That landed right in front of the commentary box. Full and outside off, du Plessis comes down the track and sends it flying down the ground! |
| 13.3 : 13.3: A Patel to du Plessis, OUT! Taken in the deep! The 83-run stand is broken and Faf is out of here. A wicket at the perfect time for Delhi. Faf and Raina were accelerating and this will put some sort of a halt to Chennai's hitting. Tossed up outside off, this is with a bit of less pace. 85.6 kph. Du Plessis comes down the track again and looks to go inside out but this time, he is not quite to the pitch of the ball. It hits the bottom of the bat and goes towards long off. It is actually a go |
| 14.1 : 14.1: J Suchith to S Raina, FOUR! Full and outside off, Raina gets down and drags a sweep wide of mid-wicket. |
| 14.2 : 14.2: J Suchith to S Raina, FOUR! FIFTY FOR RAINA! 37th in the League but 50th IN T20S! Is he back in form? Full and outside off, Raina comes down the track and smashes it straight back over the bowler for a boundary down the ground! Will we now see the aggressive side of Suresh? |
| 14.3 : 14.3: J Suchith to S Raina, SIX! He leaps, he flies and ALMOST gets it! Trent Boult, take a bow. What a superlative effort. Full and outside off, Raina comes down the track and swings it over wide long on. It seems it is clearing the ropes but Boult races to his left, sticks his left hand out, leaps but the ball bursts through his hand and lands beyond the ropes. Boult smiles as his fielders applaud his effort. 100 UP FOR CHENNAI. Another 60 on the cards from here? |
| 14.5 : 14.5: J Suchith to S Raina, OUT! Dhawan takes a blinder! Boy, the Gabbar is roaring at the Chepauk. That too, with a smile. Tossed up outside off, lack of pace, Raina comes down the track and looks to swing hard but is done in by the lack of pace. He is not to the pitch of the ball but gets a leading edge. Initially, it seems like it will land safely but Dhawan runs back from point, keeps his eyes on the ball and then dives backward. Eventually, he takes it with his right hand and then falls on |
| 15.5: A Patel to R Jadeja, DROPPED, SIX! Ordinary effort from Rutherford. Was he thinking about the ropes behind? Full and outside off, Jadeja gets down and mows the slog sweep. It is not a clean hit and Sherfane Rutherford has a chance running to his right from deep backward square leg. However, strangely, he looks to parry the ball away, instead of catching it, perhaps fearing that he might cross the rope. But the ball bursts through his hands and lands beyond the boundary! |
| 15.6 : 15.6: A Patel to R Jadeja, FOUR! Off the edge! Lucky for Jadeja. He jumps down the track and swings hard but is nowhere near the pitch of the ball. It takes the outside edge and flies over Rishabh Pant's gloves to the third man fence. 28 from the last 2 overs! |
| 16.3 : 16.3: C Morris to MS Dhoni, FOUR! Poor bowling. Short and asks for trouble. Gets plenty of it. It is almost waist high and Dhoni has zero trouble in swivelling and pulling it behind square leg. |
| 16.5 : 16.5: C Morris to R Jadeja, FOUR! Cheeky from Jadeja! Third man was up and the ball was on a length outside off. 'Sir' just opened the face of his bat at the last moment and guided it past short third man! |
| 17.2 : 17.2: T Boult to MS Dhoni, TOP EDGE, FOUR! Chennai are getting the runs now. A slower delivery, but short with fine leg up? All the best. Dhoni looks to pull but is early. However, the ball takes the top edge and goes over short fine leg! |
| 17.6 : 17.6: T Boult to R Jadeja, SIX! THUMP! 14, 14, 10, 14 - this is how the last 4 overs have fared. Another slower ball from Boult, full and outside off, but Jadeja picks it. Gets underneath the same and hammers the bones out of this one, clobbering it over long on! Jadeja has moved to 25 from 9 balls, in a stand of 38! |
| 18.1 : 18.1: C Morris to MS Dhoni, FOUR! Unlucky for Morris. He goes full and fast and Dhoni swings hard. But the ball goes off the inner half of the bat and escapes between short fine leg and backward square leg! The stand is now worth 42 from 20 balls. |
| 18.3 : 18.3: C Morris to R Jadeja, OUT! Another stunning catch and Morris has his first! A length ball around off, slower in pace, Jadeja looks to slog but gets a top edge. Morris himself calls for it, running to his left and takes a brilliant catch. A decent 10-ball 25 cameo from Jaddu. |
| 18.4 : 18.4: C Morris to A Rayudu, FOUR! Another slower ball, short in length, Rayudu pulls it over mid-wicket. Jagadeesha Suchith runs to his right from deep mid-wicket and slides awkwardly but misses the ball. |
| 18.6 : 18.6: C Morris to MS Dhoni, NO BALL, SIX! Dew, complains Morris to his captain. A high full toss, clearly slipping out of the hand, Dhoni is in no control and his bottom hand comes off the bat as he looks to pull. It flies over short fine leg and even clears the ropes! |
| 19.3 : 19.3: T Boult to MS Dhoni, FOUR! The helicopter... does not fly but buzzes over. Still good enough. What power. Full and almost in the blockhole, Dhoni tries to bring out the helicopter shot but is not quite able to get underneath the ball. Still, with whatever part that he is able to get, Mahi smashes it straight back over the bowler and the ball runs down to the long on boundary. |
| 19.5 : 19.5: T Boult to MS Dhoni, SIX! THWACK! A short ball, outside off, Dhoni pulls it right from the meat of the bat and clobbers it over mid-wicket! |
| 19.6 : 19.6: T Boult to MS Dhoni, SIX! Two sixes on the last 2 balls and Chennai almost touch 180! A poor ball to finish, short and around off, Dhoni pulls it over deep backward square leg. Shikhar Dhawan at the ropes leaps, tries for an ungainly catch but the ball is well over! CHENNAI FINISH ON 179/4! |
| 0.2 : 0.2: D Chahar to P Shaw, FOUR! Another one on the pads, fuller this time and dispatched! Deepak has not found his line here and concedes a boundary as this full ball on the pads is easy pickings for someone of Shaw's caliber. He whips it away through the right of mid-wicket. Boundary to get Delhi going! |
| 0.5 : 0.5: D Chahar to P Shaw, OUT! First time Shaw gets width. His eyes light up and he slashes. But unfortunately, he slashes straight to Raina at cover! A length ball wide outside off, Prithvi looks to cut this ball uppishly but fails to keep the ball down. Raina at the edge of the circle has his eyes on the ball which was travelling quite fast but makes no mistake as he takes a tumbling catch. It is his 100th catch in the League! The first ball outside off stump gets a wicket for Chahar. The Chenn |
| 0.6 : 0.6: D Chahar to S Iyer, FOUR! The skipper is off the mark in style. A length ball, but straying on the pads of Iyer. Shreyas eases it fine on the leg side and picks up a boundary. 8 runs and a wicket off the first over. |
| 2.2 : 2.2: D Chahar to S Iyer, FOUR! Crunched! A length ball outside off, Shreyas has punched that off the back foot and found the gap through covers. No stopping that! |
| 3.2: H Singh to S Dhawan, SIX! That is a smart shot! And it goes all the way. Dhawan was running down the track, Harbhajan bowls this flat wide outside off. The ball even turns away a bit but Dhawan though reaches out for the ball and connects really well. The ball ends up in the stands at long on. |
| 3.5 : 3.5: H Singh to S Dhawan, FOUR! That has just kept running away from the fielder at long off who thought he had it covered all the while. A flighted ball outside off, Dhawan drives this to the left of cover. He places and times it beautifully. Du Plessis at long off cannot come around in time to stop it. Second boundary off the over. |
| 4.1 : 4.1: D Chahar to S Iyer, SIX! Iyer into the act now! A length ball from Chahar on off, Shreyas lifts the ball over wide long off. The ball keeps travelling and ends up just outside the rope. Great beginning to the over for Delhi. |
| 4.5 : 4.5: D Chahar to S Iyer, FOUR! Deft! A back of a length outside off, Shreyas Iyer hangs back before ramping the ball over where slip would have been. It reaches the boundary. Excellent presence of mind from the batsman. |
| 5.3 : 5.3: H Singh to S Dhawan, OUT! Harbhajan gets his man! The stumps are rattled. An off spinner floated on middle and slightly turning away. This one was slower than the balls Dhawan had received in the previous over. The batsman though in an attempt to sweep the ball ends up playing early and misses the ball completely. He finds his middle and off stump out of position. A huge breakthrough this for Chennai, even Dhoni knows it and shows his delight with a slight fist punch. This is also Harbhajan |
| 5.5 : 5.5: H Singh to S Iyer, FOUR! Misfield and the ball races away to the fence. A flatter one wide outside off from over the wicket by Harbhajan, Iyer rocks back and cuts it. Bravo at point should have really stopped that one but lets it through and ends up conceding 4 runs. |
| 6.1 : 6.1: I Tahir to R Pant, FOUR! Welcome to the attack, Tahir! A flighted ball outside off, Pant drives this ferociously. Finds the gap wide of long off and the ropes as well. |
| 6.2 : 6.2: I Tahir to R Pant, OUT! Gone next ball! Tahir is off on his run. A flighted one outside off again, Pant goes to repeat the shot, looks for even better. He though ends up hitting the ball straight to Bravo at long off. Huge wicket, Pant can change the game on his own but the wily old fox has got him. Chennai on the charge now, 3 wickets down are Delhi. |
| 7.4 : 7.4: R Jadeja to C Ingram, OUT! Umpire's call it is! Ingram has to depart now and Chennai are all over Delhi like a rash. A flatter one outside off, Jadeja turns it a long way and raps the southpaw on his pads as he misses his defensive push. There is an appeal and the finger goes up! Colin wants a review but it does not save him as the ball just clips the top of leg stump. Delhi stuttering now. |
| 8.1 : 8.1: D Bravo to A Patel, FOUR! Excellent placement! A really full length ball wide outside off, almost yorker length. Axar gets bat on that by stretching out. He angles it away wide of point and beats third man easily. Good start to the over for the away side. |
| 10.2 : 10.2: I Tahir to A Patel, OUT! What a catch by Watson! That was travelling. Tahir is off on the run again but that was Watto's wicket more than anyone else's. Flighted ball wide outside off, Axar reaches out to drive the ball but gets a thick edge. The ball flies towards slip and the burly Aussie does really well to react quickly, get his hands in front of his face and hold on at an awkward height. Yet another batsman departs without partnering their skipper. |
| 10.6 : 10.6: I Tahir to S Rutherford, OUT! Tahir has another! The sixth one departs. A flighted googly outside off, Rutherford looks to go big but gets a leading edge on that one. The ball flies to backward point and the catch is easily taken by Deepak Chahar there. Delhi in shambles and Shreyas Iyer watches from the other end helplessly. |
| 11.4 : 11.4: R Jadeja to C Morris, OUT! That's what flashes on the big screen. Dhoni is lightning quick and you do not lift your foot against him. Morris is a goner, a first-ball duck for him. A flatter one outside off and turns sharply to beat the outside edge of Morris as he looks to defend. He though ends up lifting his back foot and Dhoni whips off the bails in a flash. The replays roll on and lo and behold, the foot is in the air. 7 down! |
| 11.6 : 11.6: R Jadeja to S Iyer, OUT! How wrong can I be? This man is a wizard and is faster than light. Shreyas Iyer is the man to walk out now and it would not be too off the mark to say that Delhi's final hope too vanishes with him. A flatter one on off, grips and there is quick turn which beats the outside edge of the Delhi skipper. Dhoni again collects and whips off the bails. And once more, the back foot is in the air as the replays come on. The big screen flashes out and Chepauk is bustling! Del |
| 15.2 : 15.2: D Bravo to J Suchith, OUT! Run out! Watson making up for his zero with the bat on the field. He took a brilliant catch earlier and now an excellent direct hit. A length ball on off, Suchith pushes the ball towards the left of Watson at point. The batsmen have an indecision in the middle of the wicket and that extra second means Suchith will end up being short due to the direct hit. |
| 15.3 : 15.3: D Bravo to A Mishra, FOUR! Oh no, Jadeja's effort in the deep goes in vain. A full toss on middle, Mishra whips it away towards deep square leg. Jadeja from deep mid-wicket runs and tries to keep it in unsuccessfully though. |
| 16.2 : 16.2: I Tahir to A Mishra, OUT! Caught behind! CHENNAI WIN BY 80 RUNS! Tahir gets 4 and the Men in Yellow are roaring. Tossed up outside off, Mishra looks to defend but the ball takes a thin outside edge and Dhoni does the rest. 2 stumpings and 1 catch to go with his unbeaten 44 earlier in the evening. |
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