Rishabh Pant slammed his first fifty since his comeback to cricket after a long injury lay-off, but veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni stole the limelight with a late cameo.
Delhi Capitals were clinical with both bat and ball to outclass champions Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs on Sunday, March 31, 2024, for their first victory in IPL 2024 after two straight defeats.
A look at the best knocks in the Delhi Capitals-Chennai Super Kings game:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Dhoni turned back the clock in grand style.
CSK were all but of the contest with 72 needed from 23 balls when Dhoni walked out to bat with Delhi's bowlers proving to be difficult to get away.
However, Dhoni ensured the CSK fans had a memorable evening despite the defeat. The result was a foregone conclusion, but all the fans in the stadium broke into chants of 'Dhoni! Dhoni!' in unison from the time he stepped into the middle.
And Dhoni, likely playing his final IPL season, made sure he didn't let his fans down!
He started off in style pulling the first ball he faced, from Mukesh Kumar, for a boundary through fine leg. He was dropped by Khaleel Ahmed next ball at point much to the delight of the fans.
The CSK legend smashed the last ball of the over through extra cover for another four and followed it up with a handsome inside out lofted shot over the off-side for a six.
Dhoni then turned down singles to keep the strike in the 19th over but wasn't able to do much against Mukesh, who got the wide yorkers bang on target.
But 'Finisher' Dhoni finished off in great style in the last over.
Anrich Nortje's wide half-volley was hammered through the covers for a four followed by a one-handed six over midwicket as the ball sailed miles despite looking like a casual hit.
Nortje gifted Dhoni a full toss which he lofted over mid-on for a four and sent the last ball flying over the cover boundary for a six to end the match in style.
CSK had lost the game but nobody was complaining as everyone was left savouring Dhoni's sensational knock of 37 from 16 balls.
Ajinkya Rahane
Another CSK veteran had a good day with the bat.
Rahane came into bat with CSK in all sorts of trouble at 7/2 in the third over courtesy of Khaleel Ahmed's double strike.
Chasing a huge 192 for victory, Rahane got going quickly as he hit Ishant Sharma for back to back fours in the fourth over.
He played a delightful flick to pick fast bowler Nortje over square leg for a six.
Rahane in the company of Daryl Mitchell got CSK back on track in the middle overs. The two batters hit a six each off pacer Rasikh Salam in the 10th over as CSK started to seize back the momentum after a difficult start.
Mitchell's wicket was a blow, but Rahane ensured that the boundaries kept flowing to keep the asking rate in check. He hit Mitchell Marsh for two fours in a row in the 12th over.
With Shivam Dube struggling to get going, Rahane looked to release the pressure but ended up paying the price as he holed out Mukesh Kumar to David Warner at long on after a good knock of 45 from 30 balls at a strike rate of 150.
Rishabh Pant
Comeback man Rishabh Pant seems to be getting better with every outing.
After failing to carry on after getting off to starts in the first two games, Pant finally made everyone stand up and take notice.
Back to cricket after 15 months following a serious car crash in December 2022, the Delhi Capitals captain showed he has not lost any of his batting prowess. If anything, he looks determined and hungrier.
Pant walked in at No. 3 ahead of Mitchell Marsh after David Warner and Prithvi Shaw had given DC a blazing start, putting on 93 runs for the opening wicket.
The left-hander looked scratchy at the start, scoring five from the first eight balls faced, before he finally broke the shackles by slog sweeping Ravindra Jadeja for a six over midwicket.
Matheesha Pathirana's double strike in the 15th over was a body blow for Delhi, but Pant changed the script with his superb counter-attack at the end.
Pant scored 23 from as many balls before he swatted Mustafizur Rahman for a boundary through square leg and swung the pacer for a six over the leg side a few balls later.
Pathirana also suffered at Pant's hands. The Sri Lankan missed his yorker by the barest of margins, but Pant was ready and waiting as he lofted it wide of long on for a six and hammered the next straight back for a four.
The left-hander steered the wide half-volley past point for a four to bring up his fifty from 31 balls -- his first since the comeback.
He fell to Pathirana, caught by Ruturaj Gaikwad at long off but not before his 32-ball 51 had inspired DC to smash 43 from the last three overs an finish on a huge total against all expectations.
David Warner
Warner made sure Delhi made most of the Powerplay after opting to bat.
He got off the mark with a beautiful drive through the covers off Deepak Chahar for a four in the first over before hitting the same bowler for a six over square leg in his next over.
Chahar suffered again at Warner;s hands in his third over as the Australian smashed him for a six and two fours off successive deliveries.
His rapid start also helped Prithvi Shaw, playing his first game of IPL 2024, settle down and not get rushed in the early overs.
He slammed Ravindra Jadeja for a six in the ninth over before bringing up his 62nd IPL fifty from 32 balls.
Warner fell to an unbelievable diving catch by Pathirana at short third man as he attempted the reverse scoop to be dismissed after scoring 52 from 35 balls, with five fours and three sixes.
Prithvi Shaw
Shaw brought into the team in place of the struggling Ricky Bhui made most of the rare opportunity.
Shaw had a forgettable IPL last year when he managed just 106 runs from eight matches at an average of 13, but this season he seems keen to make up for it.
He took a bit of time to get going before hitting Tushar Deshpande for a four through the off-side in the fourth over.
Mustafizur Rahman was made to pay for his poor control as Shaw hit him for a hat-trick of boundaries in the sixth over.
Shaw also targetted CSK's senior spinner Ravindra Jadeja, hitting him for a couple of sixes but fell to the same bowler.
He got a thin edge trying to cut Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a sharp catch behind the stumps.
Shaw had smashed 43 from 27 balls, with two sixes and four fours, as his opening stand of 93 runs with Warner laid the foundation for DC's huge total.
DC vs CSK: Who Played The Best Knock?
Photographs: BCCI
