Delhi Capitals completed their third successive victory in IPL 2025 with a 25-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The match was all but over after CSK were reduced to 74/5 in the eleventh over in pursuit of 184. The loss of the fifth wicket brought MS Dhoni to the crease unusually early.
Although CSK lost no further wickets, they fell well short of the target. Vijay Shankar remained not out on 69 off 54 balls, while Dhoni was unbeaten on 30 off 26 balls.
Earlier, Rachin Ravindra was the first to depart after making just three, offering a return catch to Mukesh Kumar in the second over.
In the next over, Mitchell Starc had CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad caught by Jake Fraser-McGurk at deep square leg for five.
Devon Conway, who was playing his first match of the season, also failed to fire, being caught by Axar Patel off Vipraj Nigam for 13, leaving CSK with a mountain to climb.
Shivam Dube slammed Nigam for a six over long on to cause a brief flutter of excitement in the home crowd. But he skied the next delivery to Tristan Stubbs to fall for 18.
CSK's woes deepened further when Ravindra Jadeja didn't bother to seek a review after being trapped plumb in front by Kuldeep Yadav for two.
The first half of the game saw KL Rahul hit 77 off 51 balls to lift Delhi Capitals to a competitive total of 183/6.
South African Tristan Stubbs played what could turn out to be a crucial cameo at the death, remaining unbeaten on 24 off 12 balls.
Rahul, who raced to his fifty in just 33 balls, was dismissed in the final over of the innings bowled by Matheesha Pathirana, gloving one to MS Dhoni behind the sticks.
Ashutosh Sharma, getting a hit for the first time after his heroics against Lucknow Super Giants, was run out off the very next ball as the last over by Pathirana went for just seven. The Sri Lankan finished with figures of 1/31 in his four overs.
CSK had removed Sameer Rizvi in the 17th over, caught by Ravindra Jadeja off Khaleel Ahmed for 20. Khaleel was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/25 in his four overs.
Pathirana then bowled a brilliant over that went for just six singles as DC reached 161/4 after 18 overs. However, the penultimate over by Mukesh Chaudhary, who was the most expensive bowler for CSK, was smacked for 15.
Earlier, Noor Ahmed had made a breakthrough in the 11th over to snap the partnership between Rahul and skipper Axar Patel. Patel misjudged the googly, letting the ball pass between his bat and pad to be castled.
Patel had joined Rahul after Ravindra Jadeja took the second wicket dismissing Abhishek Porel in the seventh over.
Porel looked to use the face on the flatter ball by Jadeja but could not get it through. Pathirana took a simple catch to dismiss the second Delhi wicket.
After losing an early wicket, Delhi batters have taken a steady stand on the pitch with a 50-run partnership between KL Rahul and Abishek Porel at the end of the powerplay.
Khaleel Ahmed struck early as he dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk. With some serious away swings in the first over, a slow ball pushed McGurk to play a big shot. He mistimed it and got caught out by Ashwin behind mid on.
Delhi Capitals (DC) had won the toss and chose to bat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the latter's home ground, MA Chidambaram Stadium.
"We are going to bat first. Feels like there’ll be help for the bowlers. Expect it to get slower as the game progresses," said DC skipper Axar Patel.
The Delhi side made an impressive start to their IPL 2025 campaign winning both their matches. They currently sit at the second spot on the points table just behind the Punjab Kings on net run rate.
On the other hand, the five-time IPL champions had a stuttering start to the season under new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. While they opened the season with a win over the Mumbai Indians, they have since slipped with two back-to-back defeats - a 50-run defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru who ended a 17-year winless streak at Chepauk, and a narrow six-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals.
As both teams prepare for today's clash, DC will aim to maintain their win streak while CSK will look to leverage the home conditions to their favour.
Playing XI
CSK: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
DC: Jake Fraser-McGurk, KL Rahul(w), Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma