IPL 2020: Match 7 – CSK vs DC – Who Said What

On Friday, the three-time champions Chennai Super Kings came out for their third outing of the IPL 2020 against Delhi Capitals. The Yellow Army came up after a victory and a loss while Delhi came in high spirits after clinching a Super Over thriller. The young Delhi team stepped on the field after being invited to bat first. On the back of Prithvi Shaw’s thunder (64 off 43), the team went on to post a respectable 175/3 on board and won the game comfortably by 44 runs

While Prithvi Shaw’s inning was the hit show from the DC squad, the subsequent players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer also made their contribution well. Shaw was adjudged the player of the match for his sheer class against CSK. None of the bowlers from Dhoni and company could get well with the ball.

CSK never ever settled

Chasing the heavy target, the openers from CSK came and went in no time. It was Faf du Plessis yet again who became the lifeline of Chennai Super Kings and produced 43 off his bat, but it was too less in front of the mammoth total. The likes of Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, and Kagiso Rabada never allowed the CSK batters to settle and put some runs in their account.

Losing skipper, MS Dhoni said

I don’t think it was a good game for us. We are lacking a bit of steam in the batting and that hurts. The run rate keeps on mounting after such slow starts and adds pressure, we need to figure that out. We need to come back with a clearer picture, looking at the combination. There are quite a few things we can think about. We are one batter extra to start off, so the players need to step up.

We need to get better with our lengths, lines and pace. I think the spinners have not come to the party yet. We are bowling good deliveries, but we are giving away the boundary deliveries bit too often. I’ll ask the players as there have been quite a few dropped catches. The players are not used to play under such lights, maybe the trajectory comes in the way. Now that you have said it, this can be an excuse for those dropped catches.

Winning Skipper, Shreyas Iyer said

I am really happy with the performance. I would give them the benefit of doubt, is tough to catch in these conditions. You misjudged the ball, really don’t know how to pace yourself. In the team meeting we decided that we are going to assess the batting conditions early and then play accordingly. The way the openers started gave us a lot of confidence and the finish was good too. I am lucky to have KG and Nortje in the team. It’s important to stick together as a team and we need to enjoy each other’s success.

Player of the Match, Prithvi Shaw said

In the start you have to see how the wicket is, playing along the ground is more important. I was striking the ball well last year as well, but I was making silly mistakes. This time I decided to play more ground shots. I would like to see the highlights of my knock and understand how it went and what I could do. The wicket was nice to bat on.