Delhi Capitals returned to winning ways after two straight defeats as they outclassed champions Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs in the IPL match on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
While their batters raked up a huge 191, it was not an easy task to stop the all-powerful CSK batting line-up. But the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar executed their plans to perfection to choke the champions.
For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana breathed fire as his deadly yorkers left DC in a mess in the middle overs
A look at the best bowling spells from the Chennai Super Kings-Delhi Capitals game:
Khaleel Ahmed
Khaleel Ahmed dealt CSK's hopes a big blow courtesy of a superb spell in the Powerplay.
For the second match in a row, he made a major contribution with the ball in the early overs. The left-arm pacer bagged the key wicket of CSK Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad in the opening over before he got Rachin Ravindra in his next over.
He bowled three straight overs in the Powerplay during which he proved to be unstoppable as he claimed 2/9 including 10 dot balls.
CSK were left reeling on 32/2 in six overs as they were left with a huge rebuilding task in the middle overs.
Even though he was hit for six by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his final over during which he gave away 12 runs, he finished with excellent figures of 2/21 in four overs, including a maiden.
Khaleel managed just nine wickets in as many games last season at an economy rate of more than nine, but in IPL 2024 he has already taken five wickets in three games at an economy rate of 7.33.
A fine showing in IPL 2024 could open the doors for Khaleel's comeback to the Indian team. He was a regular member of the Indian white ball teams in 2018-2019 during which he featured in 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is.
Mukesh Kumar
DC pacer Mukesh Kumar showed his versatility with the ball.
Despite being switched from opening the bowling in the last match to bowling in the death overs, Mukesh showed he was comfortable and equally effective at any stage of a T20 match.
DC Captain Rishabh Pant made a strange call to introduce Mukesh Kumar in the 14th over but the move paid off immediately as he bagged two wickets in his opening over.
His clever change of pace induced the miscue from the well-set Ajinkya Rahane, who was caught at long on for 45, while the dangerous Sameer Rizvi fell in the same over caught at short third man off a leading edge.
Mukesh doused CSK's hopes with Shivam Dube's wicket in his next over; the left-hander mistimed his lofted shot and was caught at .
He also did well to keep Dhoni quiet with some perfectly bowled yorkers, conceding just five runs in the 19th over, to finish with excellent figures of 3/21 in three overs.
Axar Patel
Axar handled the spin department well in the absence of lead spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
After a tight over at the start, Daryl Mitchell lofted him for a six in the ninth over but Axar had the last laugh.
Mitchell looked for another lofted shot down the ground but mistimed it to be taken by the bowler on his follow through. Left-arm spinner Axar held things tight from his end, taking 1/20 from three overs.
Matheesha Pathirana
Pathirana produced two magical deliveries to leave Delhi Capitals stunned.
The Sri Lankan slinger bowled a searing 150 kph yorker which beat Mitchell Marsh all ends up as he was cleaned up for 18.
Tristan Stubbs fell victim to another sensational yorker. The South African saw his stumps rattled before he could even bring the bat down to keep out the 149.5 kph yorker.
The double strike in the 15th over saw Delhi slip to 134/4 before Rishabh Pant rallied the hosts in the final overs.
Pathirana was hit by Pant for a six and two fours but extracted revenge as he got the left-hander caught at long off.
The fast bowler left everyone impressed with his superb spell of 3/31 in four overs.
Tushar Deshpande
Deshpande may not have any wickets to show, but his spell was quite vital for CSK.
The Mumbai pacer started off with two quiet overs in the Powerplay, conceding just eight runs as seven of his 12 balls were dots.
He returned in the middle overs, to bowl the 12th and the 16th over but again he proved to be tough to get away as he conceded just 16 in his last two overs.
Deshpande finished with tidy figures of 24 runs in four overs and even though he didn't get any wickets his tight spell proved to be crucial.
DC vs CSK: Who Bowled The Best Spell?
