| 0.0 : Welcome to the fifth game of the Indian T20 League. We are at the capital of the country and will witness Delhi host Dhoni's Chennai tonight. Both teams started off the tournament on the perfect note by bagging 2 points each albeit in different ways. Delhi posted a 200-plus score and defended it whereas the away side skittled out Bangalore for just 70 before chasing it down easily. Kotla awaits, young, enthusiastic blood versus the experienced, calm heads! Who is going to trump? Action is not fa |
| PITCH REPORT - Sanjay Manjrekar is our expert with the pitch report and starts off by saying the conditions are pleasant around. He feels that the surface lacks any grass and is harder than normally how it is here. Comparing the bounce with the Wankhede stadium, he says that it is slightly lower here at the Kotla hence the batsmen as well as the bowlers have to make adjustments according to what shots to play and where to bowl respectively. He informs us that the most amount of turn in the Leagu |
| TOSS - Delhi have won the toss and elect to bat first. |
| Delhi skipper, Shreyas Iyer, says that they are looking to score around 170-180. Adds that the wicket gets slow in the second half at this venue. Informs that they have one change as Amit Mishra comes in for Trent Boult. |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni, says they were looking to bowl first only. States that they are unsure of the nature of the wicket so want to see how it plays out. Adds that the surface is a bit tacky, so that also comes into play. Ends by mentioning that their side is unchanged. |
| We are ready to begin. The umpires make their way out to the middle, followed by the Chennai team and the two Delhi openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Deepak Chahar to bowl the first over. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : D Chahar to P Shaw, Good length delivery shaping away from around off, Shaw stays inside the crease and taps it down on the off side. |
| 0.2 : D Chahar to P Shaw, In the air but it falls safely. A little too straight in line from Chahar, Shaw looks to work it on the leg side but closes the face early and the ball pops off the leading edge. Falls short of mid on. |
| 0.3 : D Chahar to P Shaw, Wide! Goes down the leg side this time, Prithvi tries to flick it fine but misses. Wide called. |
| D Chahar to P Shaw, FOUR! That's a fine shot from Prithvi Shaw. A confident hit. Back of a length on middle and leg, he moves inside the line and pulls it hard through square leg for a boundary. |
| 0.4 : D Chahar to P Shaw, Skids off the deck a bit, a length ball on off, a firm punch is offered towards the covers. |
| 0.5 : D Chahar to P Shaw, Fullish delivery on the pads, the right-hander works it through the mid-wicket region. Big gap out there, so the batsmen come back for the second. |
| 0.6 : D Chahar to P Shaw, Off the inner half. Just short, Shaw plays it on the leg side and keeps strike with a single. 8 off the first over. |
| Shardul Thakur will bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : S Thakur to P Shaw, Good length ball on middle and leg, nudged to the leg side. No run taken. |
| 1.2 : S Thakur to P Shaw, The ball is skidding off the surface here. Does so again now. Thakur targets the top of off stump with a length ball, Shaw mistimes the cut towards point. |
| 1.3 : S Thakur to P Shaw, Solid in defense. Shardul attacks the stumps, Prithvi brings a straight bat down in defense. |
| 1.4 : S Thakur to P Shaw, FOUR! Slower ball and it's picked up early by Shaw. It's bowled on a length, the opener swings across the line after standing his ground and then whacks it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 1.5 : S Thakur to P Shaw, FOUR! Goes down the ground this time. Back-to-back boundaries for Prithvi Shaw. Just behind a length outside off, Shaw plays this on the up and lofts it over mid on to find the fence. |
| 1.6 : S Thakur to P Shaw, FOUR! Three in a row. An expensive over from Thakur, 12 off it. Shaw plays a deft shot this time. Waits for this length ball and runs it down to third man. It's a quick outfield, even Chahar in the deep can't stop it by moving to his left. |
| 2.1 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, FOUR! Shikhar Dhawan plays his first ball of the game after two overs and gets a boundary immediately, even if it is in a streaky manner. Length delivery shaping away from around off, Dhawan hangs his bat out and it goes off the edge down to third man. |
| 2.2 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Marginally fuller than a length, around off, it's cracked straight to the cover fielder. |
| 2.3 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Full this time, on the off stick, Shikhar drives but finds the man at extra cover. |
| 2.4 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Play and a miss! Dhawan gives the charge to this back of a length delivery, looking to smash it over the off side, but misses it altogether. |
| 2.5 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Dhawan fails to connect with another one. On a length and outside off, keeps a little low, the southpaw fails to put bat on it. |
| 2.6 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Coming back in off the deck, worked in front of square leg but it's too close to the fielder. |
| Harbhajan Singh is into the attack now. |
| 3.1 : H Singh to P Shaw, Full and darted on leg, Shaw works it off his pads to square leg. Dot ball. |
| 3.2 : H Singh to P Shaw, FOUR! Shaw taking the attack to Harbhajan here, taking full advantage of the Powerplay. Seeing it flighted up, Shaw dances out and lofts it over mid off for a boundary. |
| 3.3 : H Singh to P Shaw, Wide! Down the leg side, wide signalled by the umpire. |
| H Singh to P Shaw, Prithvi swings but mistimes it as it goes off the inner half on the leg side. The batsmen take a quick run. |
| 3.4 : H Singh to S Dhawan, FOUR! Switches to around the wicket for the left-hander and pitches it too full. Dhawan gets low and plays a beautiful sweep shot. The timing and placement are too good as it finds its way to the square leg fence. |
| 3.5 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Spinning away from around off, it's cut to the point fielder. |
| 3.6 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Quicker and flatter on middle and leg, Dhawan punches it to mid on and takes the fielder on. Beats the throw and completes the single with ease. |
| 4.1 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Makes good connection but can't get the placement right. Plays this on the up and smacks it, straight to extra cover though. |
| 4.2 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Bowls it on the hips, Shikhar easily glances it down to fine leg and changes ends. |
| 4.3 : D Chahar to P Shaw, OUT! Chahar strikes! Just the wicket Chennai needed. Seeing Shaw make room, the pacer follows him with a back of a length ball. Shaw looks to heave it over mid-wicket, but mistimes it to Watson who comes in and takes a simple catch. The breakthrough has come at a good time for the visitors. They can make further inroads from here and get on top. |
| Shreyas Iyer walks in at no.3. |
| 4.4 : D Chahar to S Iyer, Iyer wastes no time in getting off the mark. Uses the angle into him and nudges it through the vacant square leg area for a single. |
| 4.5 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Shaping away, a length ball outside off, Dhawan offers a solid punch but straight to the cover-point fielder. |
| 4.6 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Good running. Dhawan taps this in front of cover and both batsmen take off quickly. As a result, they manage to complete the run with ease. |
| 5.1 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Quick and short around off, Shikhar punches it towards covers off the back foot. |
| 5.2 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Dhawan backs away to this shorter ball and forces the punch towards the covers again. |
| 5.3 : H Singh to S Dhawan, FOUR! He's premeditated that. Excellent shot. Knew it would be short again, so positioned himself for the reverse paddle and placed it through short third man for a boundary. |
| 5.4 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Full outside off, driven to the covers. Raina dives to his left but still can't stop it. A single is collected. |
| 5.5 : H Singh to S Iyer, Looped up on off stump, Iyer is well forward in defense. |
| 5.6 : H Singh to S Iyer, Full and straight, played back to the bowler. That's the end of the Powerplay, Delhi are 43/1. |
| 6.1 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Short ball banged in, Dhawan jumps out and slices it over point. There is a man in the deep, so the batsmen will only get one run. |
| 6.2 : D Chahar to S Iyer, Skidding off once more, a length ball outside off, Iyer punches it from inside the crease through the covers and jogs across to the other end. |
| 6.3 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, Back of a length quite close to off, Dhawan slaps the cut through towards sweeper cover. One run to the total. |
| 6.4 : D Chahar to S Iyer, Plays this very late. Waits for it to come to him before opening the face and running it down to third man for one. |
| 6.5 : D Chahar to S Dhawan, In line of the stumps, the opener brings his wrists into play and whips it behind square leg. Easy run taken by the batsmen. |
| 6.6 : D Chahar to S Iyer, Full delivery attacking the base of off stump, the Delhi captain opens the face and dabs it to point. |
| 7.1 : H Singh to S Dhawan, A bit slower through the air, slight turn away, Shikhar steps out and pushes it to the man at cover. |
| 7.2 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Shortish and outside off, it's cut away through cover-point for one. |
| 7.3 : H Singh to S Iyer, Iyer walks down the track, sees the ball turning down the leg side, so he works it to square leg and crosses over. The 50 comes up for Delhi. |
| 7.4 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Full and fast outside off, pushed towards the point region for a brisk run. |
| 7.5 : H Singh to S Iyer, Full and quick outside off, blocked with soft hands on the off side. |
| 7.6 : H Singh to S Iyer, Takes the aerial route and almost pays the price. Big boundaries out there. Iyer comes out and lofts it over mid-wicket. Rayudu out in the deep runs in, dives but the ball falls short. He does well, however, to stop it from going past him. Single to end the over. |
| Ravindra Jadeja brought on to have a go with the ball. |
| And he makes things happen immediately. A stumping appeal against Shreyas Iyer is referred upstairs. Let's see what happens here. Looks close. |
| 8.1 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Not out! Survives by a fraction of a second... that close. Phew! Dhoni once again lightning quick behind the stumps. Spinning away from around off, fuller in length, Iyer comes forward to defend but is beaten past the outside edge. His back leg drags out in the process and Dhoni wastes no time in taking the bails off. It's taken upstairs and replays show the Delhi skipper just about makes it back in. |
| 8.2 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Quick single. Iyer pushes it towards point and takes off. The throw comes in at the bowler's end, the bails are off but it's not because of the ball. Harbhajan knocks them off with his hands before the ball comes to him. So no harm done. |
| 8.3 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, A mistimed shot. Dhawan charges out and plays the pull off the inner half to mid-wicket. Gets a single for doing so. |
| 8.4 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Quicker and flatter outside off, patted to point for one more. |
| 8.5 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Shorter and flatter outside off, Dhawan looks to play the reverse paddle but is caught on the thigh pad. |
| 8.6 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Stays behind for this one and pushes it defensively on the off side. |
| Strategic break. Pretty even at this point. Delhi have been scoring at a steady rate, but not too fast. Chennai have got rid of Shaw and another wicket or two at this stage could swing things in their favour. Let's see how the next phase plays out. Also, Imran Tahir is into the attack. |
| 9.1 : I Tahir to S Iyer, Bowls a quicker delivery on middle, Iyer tucks it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 9.2 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, Flighted delivery on leg, Dhawan flicks it towards square leg for a single. |
| 9.3 : I Tahir to S Iyer, SIX! That's big! He's hit that a loooooonnnngggggg way! Tossed right up there, outside off, Iyer's eyes light up when he sees this. He stands his ground and launches it deep into the long off stands. This is the first maximum of the innings. And also, it is the longest time taken in a match this season for one to come. |
| 9.4 : I Tahir to S Iyer, Full on leg, Iyer flicks it towards square leg. The batsmen cross ends. |
| 9.5 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, Bowls a googly outside off, Dhawan looks to sweep but misses it due to the turn on this one. |
| 9.6 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, Floated outside off, Shikhar comes down the track and drives it through mid off for a single. Big over for Delhi. 10 runs have come from it. |
| 10.1 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Flighted delivery outside off, Dhawan looks to sweep but gets hit on the front pad. It goes towards third man. The batsmen take a run. The umpire gives it as a leg bye. |
| 10.2 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Floated on middle, Iyer defends it off the front foot. |
| 10.3 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, On the pads, Iyer flicks it towards square leg for a run. |
| 10.4 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Tossed up on middle, Shreyas flicks it through square leg for a single. |
| 10.5 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, On middle, Dhawan flicks it towards mid-wicket for a run. |
| 10.6 : R Jadeja to S Iyer, Beauty of a delivery. Floated just outside off, Iyer looks to defend but gets beaten on this one due to the turn on this one. |
| 11.1 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, FOUR! Terrific shot from Shikhar Dhawan. Good use of the feet from him. Floated on off, Dhawan comes down the track and smashes it past the bowler through mid off for a boundary. |
| 11.2 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, FOUR! Consecutive boundaries for Shikhar Dhawan. It was a much-needed one. Flighted delivery on middle, Dhawan plays a slog sweep through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 11.3 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, A single this time. It's slogged through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 11.4 : I Tahir to S Iyer, OUT! GONE! Tahir gets the breakthrough. This is clever bowling. The ball's been skidding through the innings so far, so he bowls it quick and on the stumps. Iyer backs away to cut it down to third man but is caught on the pads first. Big appeal and the umpire's finger follows. The Delhi skipper departs. Replays later show us that the impact was umpire's call and had the finger stayed down, Iyer would have survived in the case of a review. Never mind now, the run-a-ball s |
| Rishabh Pant walks in next to bat. |
| 11.5 : I Tahir to R Pant, Tossed up on middle, Pant flicks it towards square leg and gets off the mark. |
| 11.6 : I Tahir to S Dhawan, Floated on off, Dhawan plays it back towards the bowler. 10 runs and a wicket from this one. Eventful over from Imran Tahir. |
| 12.1 : R Jadeja to R Pant, Short and outside off, Pant makes room and cuts it through point. The batsmen pick up a couple. |
| 12.2 : R Jadeja to R Pant, FOUR! Cracking shot from Rishabh Pant. Short and outside off, Pant makes room and slaps it through covers for a boundary. Harbhajan did not have a chance there. |
| 12.3 : R Jadeja to R Pant, Short again on off, Pant cuts it towards point for a single. |
| 12.4 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Floated on off, Dhawan guides it towards third man for a run. |
| 12.5 : R Jadeja to R Pant, Floated on middle, Pant flicks it through mid-wicket. The fielder goes for a direct hit at the stumps at the keeper's end but misses it. The batsmen get two runs. Good running between the wickets. |
| 12.6 : R Jadeja to R Pant, Flighted delivery on leg, Pant nudges it towards mid-wicket for a run. 11 runs have come from the over. Productive over for Delhi. |
| Dwayne Bravo introduced into the attack. |
| 13.1 : D Bravo to R Pant, FOUR! On a good length and outside off, Pant looks to drive but gets an outside edge. He deliberately played that shot. It goes wide of Dhoni towards third man for a boundary. |
| 13.2 : D Bravo to R Pant, WIDE! Bowls it down the leg side, Pant looks to flick but misses it. |
| D Bravo to R Pant, Length delivery on middle, Pant nudges it towards square leg. The batsmen get two runs. |
| 13.3 : D Bravo to R Pant, IN THE AIR AND SAFE! Short of a length delivery, Pant goes across and pulls it over mid-wicket. It lands in no man's land. The batsmen pick up a couple. |
| 13.4 : D Bravo to S Dhawan, FOUR! Second boundary of the over. Amazing shot from Shikhar. Short and outside off, Dhawan cuts it through point for a boundary. |
| 13.5 : D Bravo to S Dhawan, FOUR! Third boundary of the over. Full toss on middle, Dhawan drives it past the bowler through mid on for a boundary. |
| 13.6 : D Bravo to S Dhawan, Short delivery on leg, Dhawan pulls it towards square leg for a run. Expensive over from Dwayne Bravo. 17 runs have come from the over. |
| Harbhajan Singh is back on. |
| 14.1 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Short, quick and outside off, Shikhar mistimes the punch shot a bit square on the off side. |
| 14.2 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Goes down the ground. Smacks it through to long on and gets off strike. |
| 14.3 : H Singh to R Pant, Turning away from outside off, slightly shorter in length, Pant slaps the cut to sweeper cover for one run. |
| 14.4 : H Singh to S Dhawan, Steps out of the crease and places it through covers for a single. |
| 14.5 : H Singh to R Pant, Wide! Big swing from Pant. Misses the ball though. It spins a long way away, across the tramline, wide signalled. |
| H Singh to R Pant, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 14.6 : H Singh to R Pant, SIX! What power from Rishabh Pant. Wow. He may be little in size, but he surely packs a punch. A bit short around off, Pant smokes it over wide long off and clears the leaping fielder comfortably. |
| 15.1 : D Bravo to S Dhawan, Back of a length, angling in on middle and leg, it's pulled in front of square leg for a single. |
| 15.2 : D Bravo to R Pant, Wide! Angles it down the leg side, wide signalled by the umpire. |
| D Bravo to R Pant, OUT! GONE! Bravo with a big wicket. Rishabh Pant is out of here before he was able to unleash himself like last time. Good captaincy and good bowling from Dhoni and Bravo. A length ball angling in on middle and off, Pant moves across a bit and plays the pick up shot over square leg, one of his favourite areas. There is a man out there. Thakur moves to his right from backward square leg and takes a good catch diving low. Chennai will rejoice, they know how dangerous Pant |
| Strategic break. Also, Colin Ingram is the next batsman in. |
| 15.3 : D Bravo to C Ingram, Off the mark instantly. Full delivery and it's drilled down to long on for a couple of runs. |
| 15.4 : D Bravo to C Ingram, OUT! Ingram's extremely short stay has come to an end. Double strike from Dwayne Bravo. Full and just outside off, Ingram smashes this to the covers but can't keep it down. Hands a straightforward catch to Suresh Raina at extra cover and he takes a sharp catch there. |
| Keemo Paul walks out next. |
| 15.5 : D Bravo to K Paul, Big shout for a leg before but the impact is outside off. Good call from the umpire. Paul walks across to this length ball and wears it on the pads. Chennai think of the DRS, but Dhoni decides against it. |
| 15.6 : D Bravo to K Paul, Play and a miss. Back of a length outside off, Paul looks to swipe this through mid-wicket but it goes under his bat. End of a superb over from Bravo. |
| Ravindra Jadeja returns to the attack. |
| 16.1 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Some flight on this, Dhawan steps out to this and slogs it through wide mid on for one. |
| 16.2 : R Jadeja to K Paul, Quick and flat outside off, kept out off the back foot. |
| 16.3 : R Jadeja to K Paul, OUT! Bowled 'em! A little bit of turn, a little bit of pace and Keemo Paul departs without making any case. Landed on off, it spins away slightly with some pace. Paul backs away a little to push it away on the off side but gets beaten by those two factors. He's beaten past the outside edge and the stumps behind are disturbed. |
| Axar Patel to bat next. |
| 16.4 : R Jadeja to A Patel, Full on the stumps, Patel plays it through towards wide long on for a single. |
| 16.5 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Fifty up for Shikhar Dhawan! 33rd in this competition. It's taken some time for it to come, but it's come, and he's the key now for Delhi if they are to get to a decent score. He pulls it through mid-wicket and comes back for the second. |
| 16.6 : R Jadeja to S Dhawan, Full and it's swept through the leg side. One run to end the over. |
| 17.1 : D Bravo to S Dhawan, OUT! 3-fer for Bravo. He's got the key man for the home side. It needed Dhawan to be there till the end, this isn't good for them. Full and just outside off from around the wicket, Shikhar moves across and tries to loft it over the leg side. It goes off the top edge though and skies towards square leg. Thakur out in the deep settles under the ball and takes a good catch. Four wickets have fallen in the last 12 ball for Delhi. Their innings is crumbling here. |
| 0.0 : Rahul Tewatia is the new man in. |
| 17.2 : D Bravo to A Patel, Outside off on a good length, Patel plays and misses. |
| 17.3 : D Bravo to A Patel, Flicks this full ball to deep square leg and gets to the other end. |
| 17.4 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Serves it outside the line of off stump, Tewatia can't get bat on ball. |
| 17.5 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Short of good length on off stump, pulled through the gap in the leg side for one run. |
| 17.6 : D Bravo to A Patel, Back of a length outside off, cut hard just wide of point for a single. |
| Shardul Thakur is called back on. |
| 18.1 : S Thakur to A Patel, Length delivery quite close to off, Patel gets an inside edge back onto his pads. |
| 18.2 : S Thakur to A Patel, Moves inside the line of this one and wrists it through square leg. One run to the total. |
| 18.3 : S Thakur to R Tewatia, Slightly ahead of a length, on off stump, Tewatia makes room and hits this hard. Straight to mid off though who is at the edge of the ring. The batsmen manage to steal a single. |
| 18.4 : S Thakur to A Patel, Angling in on leg stump, Patel looks to play it on the leg side but it goes off his thigh pad. A leg bye taken. |
| 18.5 : S Thakur to R Tewatia, Another single. Just 4 conceded so far, good one from Thakur. It's pulled down to fine leg. Can he finish well? |
| 18.6 : S Thakur to A Patel, FOUR! He cannot finish well. A boundary to end the over. It's too straight, on the leg stump, Patel pulls it fine down the leg side and finds the fence with ease. This is the first boundary since the 15th over. |
| 19.1 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Length delivery around off, Tewatia slaps this past the bowler, down the ground towards long on. The batsmen take two runs. |
| 19.2 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, FOUR! Poor ball and it's been put away. A loopy full toss on the stumps, Tewatia moves across and paddles it past the diving Shane Watson at short fine leg. After the ball is past him, there's no stopping it. |
| 19.3 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Short ball and it's been pulled away on the leg side. A run is collected. |
| 19.4 : D Bravo to A Patel, Back of a length outside off, Axar slices it down to third man aerially. It goes on the bounce to the fielder as the batsmen cross over. |
| 19.5 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Tries to be innovative but fails to execute his shot. Full and slow, well outside off, Tewatia moves a long way across to paddle it fine down the leg side. Misses it altogether. |
| 19.6 : D Bravo to R Tewatia, Full delivery aiming the base of off stump, Tewatia sweeps it to deep square leg for a single. DELHI FINISH ON 147/6! |
| Outstanding comeback from Chennai. The average score at this venue is 163, so it's safe to say this is a below par total from Delhi. They would be a little disappointed with this, especially after opting to bat. They got off to a decent start, and had solid partnerships after that too, but never got going due to the slow nature of the pitch and wickets falling at regular intervals. Pant was threatening to go ballistic again but Bravo took control of things in the second half of the innings and e |
| Dhawan did score a fifty, but it didn't come quick enough, and more importantly, he lost his wicket at a crucial time, which was the crucial moment in this innings. Had he stuck till the end, things might have been much different, come the end of the 20 overs. One more crucial factor was that the hosts lost 4 wickets in the space of 12 balls, which really hampered the momentum Pant had given them. Now, despite all this, the chase isn't going to be easy by any means, as the wicket is only going t |
| Dwayne Bravo with an interview alongside Kevin Pietersen, he begins by saying that the wicket is two-paced and change of pace is crucial as a bowler. Feels that the Powerplay is important and the chase will not be a walk in the park, but if they bat well, they can win. Dwayne mentions that he bowls late in the game because of the team combination. He adds that there is no specific favourite suit and he loves both batting and bowling. Signs off by saying that they should get the points here as lo |
| Join us for the second half of this game in a short while. It will be an interesting one for sure. Chennai will have their work cut out. Don't go anywhere... |
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