IPL 2019: Qualifier 2, CSK vs DC - Who Said What

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) proved yet again that experience is always like gold in the shortest format of the game. They went past the exuberant Delhi Capitals (DC) easily on the day to set up the finals date with their nemesis this season, Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday. It was a clinical effort from the Men in Yellow in all the departments and thoroughly deserved to win the game.

After being put into bat first, the Capitals never looked to be in the groove. They lost early wickets with the ball turning even as Deepak Chahar also struck early as usual. Shikhar Dhawan looked good for a brief period and the case was the same for Colin Munro as well. But none of the top four could play a substantial knock to put pressure on the opposition.

Rishabh Pant played a patient but matured innings of 38 runs but he never got any support from the other end as Delhi Capitals ended on 147 runs thanks to Ishant Sharma and Trent Boult who scored some important runs in the last over.

Faf-Watto pair steal the show

It could’ve been a tricky chase. But Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson killed the contest in the first half itself. They started off extremely slowly but eventually upped the ante to stitch 81 runs for the first wicket. Du Plessis took care of scoring the runs in the powerplay while Watto got going after his partner got out. He literally ripped apart Keemo Paul slamming him for 25 runs in one over.

Both the opening batsmen got out for 50 runs each and CSK, despite losing four wickets, got over the line without much fuss. Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo were in the middle during the winning moment as the spirited Capitals went down fighting.

Man of the Match, Faf du Plessis said:

We spoke about it before the game – didn’t have the best run in the last 5-6 games. We have a lot of confidence as a team to win a lot of big games – so we draw confidence from that. From the previous games, the guys were playing some great shots up front.

But it wasn’t the same kind of wicket. We also know the strength of ours is getting those partnerships – even if we go 3-4 overs without runs, we have a great lower and middle order to bring us back. Watto thanked me already for scoring quickly at the beginning (when asked about the slow start). Hopefully we can both get them off the meat in the final.

Chennai Super Kings skipper, MS Dhoni said:

It’s the usual route, last year was an exception. You’ll go for runs, miss a few catches, but it’s important to come back strong. The way we batted to chase down 140+ was really nice. That’s what the 7:30 start does, the groundstaff feel obliged to water it, and it’s a little tacky initially.

The bowling effort was brilliant, and we kept it in the right areas, not allowing Delhi to get a big score. It’s important to get their openers out – their batting line-up is really strong and they have many left-handers and we have a left-arm spinner to negate them.

The ground is a little small, so it is important for them to keep getting wickets. I think the credit needs to go to the spinners, the captain only asks them that I will use you at this point of time. Experience counts, but they have to do the hard yards to stay fit for 45-50 days.

We are happy we haven’t had many injuries and thanks to the bowling department for that – we are here because of them. I would have preferred the openers to get a few more runs. If the openers had stayed and done the finishing after the hard yards, that would have been better, but I’m happy to take the win any way.

Delhi Capitals skipper, Shreyas Iyer said:

We had a disappointing start, losing two wickets in the Powerplay, and it was hard to recover from that. They have amazing spinners. But we’ve had a great season. None of the batsmen took the initiative to take the team through and there wasn’t a partnership buidling. Disappointing for us but a good learning.

It’s something to think about [the Delhi pitch], we didn’t win too many home games, but we can’t complain about pitches. We’ve been practising a lot on slow wickets. As professionals we can’t give [excuses]. I think we’ve learned a lot, looking at seniors like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma leading their teams.

It’s a proud moment for me, standing with them at the toss. They talk to me, share their experiences, and that’s great for me. I’ve heard Rohit and many of them talk about how difficult it is to be captain, and yeah, it’s not an easy job to do, but I’m happy to be the captain.

Really proud of the boys. Loving the way we’ve gelled as a family. The coaches and support staff have been amazing. A lot more to come next season. We’ve found the base, now is the time to grow

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