Delhi Capitals (DC) took on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their final IPL 2023 league stage match on May 20, 2023, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It was a must-win game for CSK who had 15 points with seven victories from 13 games.
DC, on the other hand, were the first team to be eliminated from the IPL 2023 playoffs race and were playing for pride.
CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first. Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway added a mammoth 141-run opening partnership. Ruturaj was the aggressor and scored 79 in 50 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes, while Conway almost batted through scoring 87 with 3 sixes and 11 fours.
CSK finished with a huge 223/3 at the end of their innings with Shivam Dube making 22 in 9 and Ravindra Jadeja smacking 20* in 7 balls.
In response, DC innings saw only David Warner making a significant contribution, while Prithvi Shaw (5), Phil Salt (3), Rilee Russouw (0), Yash Dhull (13) and Akshar Patel (15) all perished attempting to navigate a controlled CSK bowling attack.
DC finished on 146/9 in 20 overs thanks to David Warner's 86 in 56 balls (5 sixes, 7 fours) and lost by 77 runs.
Thanks to this win, CSK finished the IPL 2023 league stage with 17 points from 8 wins in 14 games and have qualified for the upcoming playoffs.
During the post-match presentation, MS Dhoni was a happy man after his side secured a spot in the top four, joining Gujarat Titans. He lauded the management for backing the players who were picked in the team.
He said: “There is no recipe for success, you try and pick the best players and give them the best slot to perform, and groom them in the areas where they are not strong, somebody has to sacrifice their slot for the team. Credit to the management as well, they always back us. But, the players are most important, without the players, we can't do anything.”
He also praised Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana for their death overs bowling.
“I think death bowling, confidence is very important. Tushar has developed because he is able to execute under pressure, he has the confidence now. And when you keep playing the same players it helps. I think the bowlers have also taken the responsibility, Pathirana is quite a natural to bowling at the death but Deshpande has really developed there,” he added.
Dhoni was also asked about CSK’s preparation for knockout stages.
“I think we need to figure out and pick players who are team-first - not bothered about individual performance and perform the best at knockout stages. It is difficult to judge from the outside, we try and adjust to the players and environment as well. Even if they come 10%, we can adjust 50% to fit them better into the team,” he signed off.
(IPL inputs)
