Mumbai, May 8 (IANS): An excellent half-century from Devon Conway (87 off 49) powered Chennai Super Kings to 208-6 against Delhi Capitals in the 55th match of the IPL 2022 at the Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium, here on Sunday.
Apart from Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (41 off 33) and Shivam Dube (32 off 19) also made vital contributions with the bat for CSK. Lower down the order, M.S Dhoni (21 off 8) and Moeen Ali (9 off 4) gave the finishing touches to Chennai's innings.
Put into bat first, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway gave CSK a flying start. The duo took their time to settle down and were watchful for the first four overs as Chennai were 29/0. However, in the next two overs, they freed their arms. Between them, Conway was the more aggressive and he took Delhi bowlers to the cleaners and took CSK to 57 in the powerplay.
Even after the powerplay, Conway continued his aggressive approach and played some glorious shots, especially against Delhi Capitals' best bowler -- Kuldeep Yadav, racing to his third-successive half-century in IPL 2022 in just 27 deliveries. Gaikwad also complimented the Kiwi batter well from the other end as Chennai reached the three-figure mark in 10 overs.
It was Anrich Nortje, who dismissed Ruturaj (41 off 33) to break the 110-run opening stand and give some respite to Delhi. Shivam Dube, who came to bat next, wasn't able to find his timing and played a few dot deliveries, which slowed down CSK's run rate a little.
However, once Dube found his rhythm, he smashed a few big sixes to up the run rate while Conway was playing second fiddle during those overs. With only four overs to go, Conway tried to up the ante but he couldn't find the timing and edged the ball for Rishabh Pant behind the wickets. The wicket brought Ambati Rayudu to the crease and he struggled for the most part of his innings. Rayudu's struggle also put pressure on Shivam Dube, who tried to hit a Mitchell Marsh delivery for a six but found Warner at the boundary line.
With 17 balls to go, skipper Dhoni walked in to bat and hit Marsh for a six and boundary to give a push to CSK's innings. Moeen (9) and Uthappa (0), who came to bat after Rayudu's (5) wicket, fell for quick succession in the last over of the innings but Dhoni's cameo took CSK to 208.
Anrich Nortje (3/42), Khaleel Ahmed (2/28), and Mitchell Marsh (1/34) were the wicket-takers for Delhi.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 208/6 in 20 Overs (Devon Conway 87, Ruturaj Gaikwad 41; Anrich Nortje 3/42, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28) vs Delhi Capitals.