Delhi Capitals (DC) grabbed their first win of the season against the high-flying Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Vizag, beating the defending champions by 20 runs in the IPL 2024.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad blamed their loss on the lack of big overs in their innings, especially after losing early wickets. Delhi batted first and scored 191 runs, with David Warner and skipper Rishabh Pant playing exceptionally well.
The game took a turn in the second innings when Khaleel Ahmed’s early swing movement troubled CSK’s batsmen, leading to quick dismissals for Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj. CSK tried to recover, but they struggled to get close to the target.
Batting in the middle was tough for CSK as DC’s pacers stuck to their plans, restricting them to just 171 runs. Former CSK captain MS Dhoni’s quick-fire 37* off 16 balls towards the end gave CSK some hope, but it wasn’t enough to chase down the target.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad blames the batters
During the post-match presentation, Ruturaj Gaikwad mentioned that they missed out on scoring more runs during the middle overs, which could have made a difference.
“At the halfway stage, I felt it was gettable. But after 3-4 overs, there was extravagant seam movement and we were just catching up. We didn’t get big overs of 10 or 15 runs and as a result, we felt short,”
Despite the loss, he remained hopeful for the upcoming matches and commended their bowlers for restricting the opposition to a reasonable total.
“After two games, you can expect the third game to go against you . To finish on the losing side by 20 runs, it was about two or three hits and our bowlers also did a decent job.”
CSK will aim to bounce back in their next game against SunRisers Hyderabad on 5th April in Hyderabad.