Image Credit- BCCI
Sunday night, about
eleven o’clock, Visakhapatnam sprang to life. The Delhi Capitals under
“Hosts” were headed for their first victory, but the outcome didn’t
seem to matter at all.
For the first time since the championship game of the previous year, MS Dhoni
stepped to the middle to bat. He quickly raised the volume, smashing his first
ball for four behind square leg and bludgeoning his third through extra-cover.
The crowd threatened to burst through the ceiling when he hit Khaleel Ahmed for
an inside-out six in the next over. One run more than any team has ever made
off the final two overs to win in the IPL was still required by Chennai Super
Kings with 12 overs remaining.
It was left to
Mukesh Kumar to bowl a crucial over. Up until then, his numbers were 2-0-16-3.
He bowled several wide yorkers that Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja were unable to
get underneath, knowing that one more excellent over would effectively end the
match.
It became apparent that the Capitals had won their first game of the season
when Dhoni concluded the game with a full-toss for six. David Warner and
Rishabh Pant’s bat work had laid the groundwork for this outcome, and Khaleel
and Mukesh saw it through.
Shaw, who replaced
local lad Ricky Bhui at the top of the order, set the tone with a 93-run
opening partnership with David Warner in 9.3 overs.
It included all the hallmarks of a Shaw inning: mouthwatering drive, vicious
cuts, and mouthwatering wristwork. Warner had greater muscle, but his leg-side
strokeplay also had a seductive quality. The Capitals were on a roll when he
reached his half-century off just 32 balls.
You were unaware
that Matheesha Pathirana would compete in the event at all until last week.
However, he allayed any worries about his back when he took a blinder at short
third in the tenth over, sprang full length, and executed a one-handed stunner
while in the air.
Even though we were expecting it, his second act was even more spectacular. He
was removed for six in the fifteenth over, but he quickly yorked Mitchell
Marsh’s middle stump. He had Tristan Stubbs with another toe-crusher two balls
later. The Capitals were quickly losing ground, and at the conclusion of that
over, they were down to 134 for 4.
Pant’s innings
seemed like a battle in the beginning. When balls were buried in the pitch for
a period of time, he kept getting out of shape. The displeasure felt too
obvious at 23 off 23. However, he forced himself to back out of the rut, and it
was incredible when he did.
He defeated Mustafizur Rahman initially, then Pathirana, sprinkling the long-on
boundary with his powerful lower hand and his trademark shovel. He scored a
half-century off of 31 balls when he cut Pathirana in the same over to the boundary
of the point. The Capitals gained momentum after a 19th over that ended at 17
and finished at 191 for 5.
3-0-9-2. Three runs
were scored in Khaleel’s first 12 balls. Right at the top, the left-arm fast
left Super Kings in a rut. The late seam movement brought Ruturaj Gaikwad out
and back in. Frustrated that he could not get a bat on the ball, Rachin Ravindra
holed out to mid-on.
Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell appeared to be trying to bat deep as they
proceeded carefully. It was Axar Patel’s task to do. And he ended the
collaboration by having Mitchell bowl and catch. He attempted to slice one over
cow corner to get Impact Sub Shivam Dube’s third ball, but Pant
spilled his bottom edge.
Assigned to bowl the
difficult overs, Mukesh stunned the Super Kings by picking up two in his
opening over, the 14th. He dismissed Sameer Rizvi with an incredible seam-up
ball that he nicked to short third, then he dismissed Rahane with a slower one
that he smashed to long-on.
Anrich Nortje bowled a brilliant third over packed of wide yorkers to frustrate
the batsmen, with the Super Kings needing 79 off 30. After the over ended at
just seven, Shivam Dube gave in to the mounting pressure and was caught long-off
in the 17th over, giving Mukesh his third wicket.