CSK had to make sure that they improve their NRR to end on second spot in league stage of IPL 2023. They had to face DC, who had nothing to lose in their last league match at Delhi. CSK has decided to not change their winning combination. They won against DC at Chepauk and they needed to give a thrashing for DC to qualify at second spot. Can they? Many CSK fans thought DC can come hard against them to spoil their chances.
CSK chose to bat first after winning the toss. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway neutralized any threat that DC bowlers could pose to their plans. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 79 runs off 50 balls and have put on 141 runs in 14.3 overs with Conway. Shivam Dube immediately understood the task and scored 22 runs off 9 balls. MS Dhoni came above all others at No.4 as only 2 overs are left in the innings. Devon Conway got out after scoring 87 runs off 52 balls. Ravindra Jadeja, finally, scored 20 runs off 7 balls at a brisk pace. MS Dhoni could not provide the high finish many fans anticipated. Still, CSK scored 223/3 in 20 overs.
Prithvi Shaw failed for DC in chase. Phil Salt(3) and Rilee Rossouw(0) got out to Deepak Chahar in back-to-back balls. DC never looked like challenging CSK score. David Warner played a lone warrior innings with 86 runs from 58 balls. Axar Patel(15) and Yash Dhull(13) tried to assist him. Tushar Deshpande(1/26), Maheesh Theekshana(2/23), Matheesha Pathirana(2/22) and Deepak Chahar(3/23) bowled well for CSK. Ravindra Jadeja has been taken apart by David Warner in his last over.
CSK won by 77 runs as they restricted DC to 146/9. With this amazing and huge win, CSK NRR has improved to 0.652. LSG had a huge task to top that. CSK ended the league part of the season at second spot. They will play GT at Chennai after their opening match clash at Ahmedabad, on 23rd of May.
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