Match Center

Right then, the apprentice gets a win over the master as Rishabh Pant and Delhi get a crucial win over reigning champions Chennai to end another Super Sunday in the 2024 Indian T20 League. Next up, a new week dawns and the only team yet to play at home will be playing at home as winless Mumbai take on unbeaten Rajasthan at the Wankehde Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, 1 April. That game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT) but you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!

Khaleel Ahmed is the Player of the Match for his fine bowling display up top. Khaleel says that he has put in a lot of hard work in the domestic circuit and has played a lot of matches which has helped him know his bowling better. Adds that in T20 cricket, odds are in favor of the batter so it is good to bowl when the ball is swinging. Mentions that he tried to figure out a way to stay fit and adds that when you play red-ball cricket continuously, you get to know a lot more about how the ball behaves. Ends by saying that the ultimate goal is definitely to represent the national side once again.

Rishabh Pant, the skipper of Delhi says that the bowlers have been clinical and they as a team have learned from their mistakes. Mentions Prithvi Shaw who worked hard consistently and they had to give him the chance on which he did pretty well. Appreciates Mukesh Kumar despite being injured and bowling superbly in the death. Talks about himself and says that he took enough time for himself to get ready and worked hard after waiting for one and a half years to keep doing what he loves and improving. Mentions that his only thought process was his self belive to make a strong comeback.

The Presentation ceremony...

Anrich Nortje, the Delhi speedster is down for a chat. He says that his body felt a lot better in this game but he is talking it game by game. Adds that the training has been going really well and he is focusing on where to land it as he generally likes to go for straight yorkers rather than wide yorkers. Mentions that they are building up now and the starts have been nice in the last two games and he can also feed off that energy as the 3rd or 4th change bowler.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, the skipper of Chennai says that he was pretty much happy with the bowling effort after the kind of start Delhi got off to. Adds that the wicket had some seam movement and spongy bounce in the second innings which made it difficult for them and not being able to get hold of the first 3 or 4 overs made a big difference. Mentions that the extra seam movement let them reel in the game and it was just about trying to catch up as they failed to get one or two big overs which could've been important. States that after two good games, it doesn't worry them a lot to lose a game with a margin of 20 runs and it's just a matter of a few hits here and there.

Earlier in the game, Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to put runs on the board on a ground where the odds were heavily stacked in favour of the team chasing but his decision was brilliantly backed by the opening pair of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw. The duo scored 62 runs in the Powerplay and added 93 runs in total for the first wicket before Warner fell after reaching his fifty. Rishabh Pant came up the order at number 3 and after Delhi lost a few wickets in the middle phase, Pant notched up a valiant fifty to take his side over the 190-run mark which was a very competitive total. As for Chennai, it was Matheesha Pathirana who was the star with 3 top wickets to his name and Tushar Deshpande too bowled a very economical spell. However, Deepak Chahar, Mustafizur Rahman and Ravindra Jadeja were a bit off-color and couldn't keep the runs in check. In reply, Chennai began slowly and wickets in the middle phase cost them dearly as Delhi won the contest by 20 runs.

Chennai knew 192 was chasable but that prolific opening pair of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra just couldn't get going. Rachin played and missed a lot of deliveries and Gaikwad was sent packing very early. With the score at 7/2, Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell stitched together a steady stand and got Chennai into a position from where they could do something positive. However, Mitchell fell and then they lost three wickets in quick succession. There was a late blitz from MS Dhoni who rolled back the years and finished unbeaten on 37 runs off just 16 balls but by then, it was a bridge too far for Chennai.

After having put on a solid total of 191 runs on the board, Delhi started brilliantly with the ball as Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma bowled immaculate lines and lengths and the former even picked up a couple of big wickets while remaining highly economical. In the middle overs, they did allow one stand to build and the Impact Player, Rasikh Dar couldn't make much of an impact but Mukesh Kumar certainly got Delhi firmly in front by picking up 3 wickets in his first two overs. Mukesh and Khaleel did close out decently but Anrich Nortje also conceded 20 runs in the final over. However, they had taken a far superior lead before the death overs that it didn't matter in this game.

Well, that was some sensational ball striking from the evergreen MS Dhoni but it wasn't enough for Chennai. One of the finest bowling performances so far in this year's tournament, well it was for most part of the run chase before it got a bit nervy at the death but the bowlers stuck to the plans and Delhi have finally got their first win of the campaign. On the other hand, Chennai lose their first match of the season and only Kolkata and Rajasthan remain as unbeaten teams.

SIX! That cameo will please the crowd but Delhi win this home game by 20 runs and bag two crucial points. Another low full toss outside off, MS Dhoni with his strong bottom-hand cuts it over square on off for a maximum to end the innings at 171/6.

Goes fuller and just outside off, MS Dhoni drives it straight to cover.

FOUR! Gets it right in the slot and makes full use of it. Anrich Nortje bowls a full toss, on off, MS Dhoni waits for it and smokes it over mid on for a boundary.

Darts a yorker on off, MS Dhoni drills it to long off but denies the single.

SIX! How can someone hit that off one hand? That's some shot! Anrich Nortje looks for the yorker outside off and bowls a very low full toss, MS Dhoni flicks his wrist as his bottom hand comes off but still manages to clear the fence over mid-wicket for a maximum.

FOUR! Starts the over well does MS Dhoni. Fuller length, outside off, MS Dhoni with sheer power drives it past point for a boundary.

A full toss outside off, Ravindra Jadeja gets across the line and whips it to deep mid-wicket for a couple of runs. Chennai can now only manage to get closer to that target with them needing 41 off the last over.