Chennai Super Kings on Sunday left Suresh Raina out of the playing XI but the decision did not hurt Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side as they beat Delhi Capitals by four wickets to enter the IPL final, to be played on Friday. Much to the comfort of CSK fans, it was Dhoni, who scored the winning runs.
Batting first, Delhi Capitals made 172-5 in 20 overs with Prithvi Shaw scoring the bulk of runs for his side. He made 60 in 34 balls with his knock including seven boundaries and three sixes. Rishabh Pant took 35 balls to score 51 runs, while Shimron Hetmyer made 37 runs in 24 balls.
Chennai Super Kings achieved the target with two balls to spare by losing six wickets. Ruturaj Gaikwad once again shone with the bat to play a knock of 70 runs that he faced just 50 balls to score. Robin Uthappa took 44 balls to score 63 runs. However, it was Dhoni’s 6-ball 18 runs that became instrumental in the CSK’s win.
When Moeen Ali was out, the CSK still needed 13 runs off the last five balls to win the match. The task looked difficult but Dhoni had different plans as he hit Tom Curran for three consecutive fours to pull off a spectacular win for his side.
Curran, who otherwise had a decent event with the ball, picked up three wickets for Delhi Capitals, who will have another chance to secure a place in the final by playing against the winner of Monday’s match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gaikwad was adjudged Man Of The Match for his impressive knock of 70 runs.