In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Chennai Super Kings seem invincible. The former champions started their Delhi leg of the season with a resounding 7-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 23 on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to five matches.
Chennai Super Kings have reclaimed the top spot in the IPL 2021 points table, edging out Royal Challengers Bangalore, who won by one run in a last-over thriller versus Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (44-ball 75) and Faf du Plessis (38-ball 56) combined to help Chennai Super Kings chase down a 172-run mark at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi with relative ease. The pair, who toyed with the Sunrisers bowling attack with their wide range of strokes, put the chase to rest with a 129-run opening stand in just 13 overs.
Despite a series of low scores at the start of the season, Gaikwad, who was backed by the CSK management, hit his fifth fifty, oozing class. Ruturaj was equally effective against pacers and spinners. He didn’t bulldoze the bowling attack; instead, he found holes and timed them ideally to frustrate David Warner and his teammates.
Earlier in the day, after beginning the innings with a dropped catch, Chennai Super Kings put in a strong performance on the ground, saving vital runs. In the powerplay, Jonny Bairstow struggled to make the most of his reprieve, falling to Sam Curran for seven points.
On a drizzly evening in Delhi, David Warner, who won the toss and unexpectedly chose to bowl, failed to get going with the bat.
Warner hit 57, becoming the first man in the IPL to hit 50 fifties, but it took him 55 balls to get there, restricting the scoring pace in the innings. Warner wore a disappointed expression as he grunted and moaned after a string of misses.
Manish Pandey, who had been dropped for a couple of games, returned to the XI and hit a 46-ball 61 while batting at No. 3. Pandey and Warner, on the other hand, were both dismissed in the same over by Lungi Ngidi.
Despite a 106-run stand between Warner and Pandey, the Sunrisers looked like they would fail to get past 150 runs at one point, but Kane Williamson came in to bat in the 18th over and hit a 10-ball 26. Kedar Jadhav hit a four-ball 12, including a last-ball six, to help the Sunrisers reach 171 runs against his former team.
