Led by half-centuries from David Warner and Rishabh Pant, backed up by fine spells from Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar, Delhi Capitals registered their maiden win of IPL 2024 and handed Chennai Super Kings their first loss of the season as the hosts secured a 20-run win in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

On paper, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw form one of the most destructive opening combinations in the IPL. However, they couldn’t live up to that reputation last season and Shaw was left out for the opening two games this season. On his return though, the duo exhibited exactly why they are so fearsome. After a couple of scratchy overs, they found the rhythm and took the attack to the CSK bowlers. Warner took down Deepak Chahar in the fifth by picking his slower delivery over the square fence and then carting his low full toss and bouncer for boundaries. Shaw too got going with a hat-trick of boundaries against Mustafizur Rahman in the last over of the powerplay, helping the side to 62 for no loss – their best score in the powerplay this season.

Even when the field restrictions eased, the duo continued their attack, especially against Ravindra Jadeja, smashing the left arm spinner for 24 runs in his first two overs. By the ninth over, Warner even brought up his 62nd IPL half-century with a flick towards mid wicket. By the end of the ninth over, DC were well placed on 91 for no loss.

In attempting to force Prithvi Shaw away from his arc led to a couple of wides in Matheesha Pathirana’s first over, but amidst the carnage around, he still bowled an impressive first over. However, the changing moment of the innings came when he plucked a stunning, one-handed diving catch at short third to dismiss Warner, whose reverse scoop proved counter-productive. In the 15th over, after being pulled for a boundary, he cleaned up Mitchell Marsh and Tristan Stubbs in a space of three balls with fast yorkers.

In the four overs separating the two efforts of Pathirana was Shaw’s dismissal when he was caught behind while attempting to cut Jadeja, making MS Dhoni the first wicketkeeper to bag 300 catches in T20s. Tushar Deshpande and Chahar bowled a couple of tight overs even as Jadeja continued to be attacked. By the end of Pathirana’s second over, DC were reduced to 134 for 4. In the process, CSK had seized the momentum back courtesy the Sri Lankan’s brilliance with the ball and in the field and it left the with a new batter along with Rishabh Pant, who himself was struggling for timing.

Till the end of the 17th over, Pant barely managed to get a clear connection on the ball. A couple of boundaries notwithstanding, he was still moving along at run-a-ball 23. And then, suddenly he found his old mojo back. He first pulled Mustafizur’s short delivery for a boundary and a few balls later, he brought out the one-handed flick to hit a full delivery for a six. He continued the assault against Pathirana in the next over, taking the bowler apart for a six and two boundaries off successive deliveries before he toe-ended a yorker for the long off fielder to take a fine catch. Nonetheless, he late attack not only helped him register his first fifty on return to IPL but also took DC to a commanding 191 for 5.

A fine spell of swing bowling by Khaleel Ahmed, in helpful conditions, helped Delhi Capitals snap two early wickets. There was also some seam movement and spongy bounce which helped DC’s new ball pair. Ruturaj Gaikwad got a faint edge to the ‘keeper in the first over, and Rachin Ravindra – who struggled through his 12 ball stay – was snapped in the third, top-edging a swipe to mid off. The left-arm pacer conceded only nine runs in his three-over spell in the powerplay and CSK were restricted to 32 for 2.

Daryl Mitchell and Ajinkya Rahane helped CSK dig themselves out of a troubled situation with a 68-run partnership in 45 balls. They both were slow to get going in the face of the rising required rate, but clubbed a six each of Rasikh Salam in the 10th over to give hopes of turning the momentum. However, a mistimed loft off Axar Patel in the next over, ended Mitchell’s stay. Rahane looked to continue CSK’s recovery in the company of Shivam Dube, but with the latter struggling to middle his attempted big shots, DC retained the control. In the 14th over, Mukesh Kumar snapped the wicket of Rahane and Sameer Rizvi in quick succession to further dent CSK’s charge.

Mukesh returned to bowl his second over and had Dube flatbatting a slower ball straight to the long off fielder. With 72 needed off 23 balls when Dhoni walked out to bat, the task was too stiff for CSK. Nonetheless, a flurry of boundaries by Dhoni, who was returning to competitive batting after nearly a year, and Jadeja, brought the equation down to 46 off the last two overs.

That’s when Mukesh bowled the decisive over which sealed the fate of the contest. For a long time, DC bowlers had maintained the wide line outside the offstump towards the longer part of the boundary. Mukesh kept it full and wide and conceded only five runs in the penultimate over, ending CSK’s hopes. For a second game in a row, Anrich Nortje had a forgettable final over, this time conceding two sixes and two boundaries, but despite Dhoni’s late flourish 16-ball 37* – CSK fell 20 runs short of DC’s total.

Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 191/5 in 20 overs (Prithvi Shaw 43, David Warner 52, Rishabh Pant 51; Matheesha Pathirana 3-31, Mustafizur Rahman 1-47, Ravindra Jadeja 1-43) beat  Chennai Super Kings 171/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 45, MS Dhoni 37*, Daryl Mitchell 34, Ravindra Jadeja 21*; Mukesh Kumar 3-21, Khaleel Ahmed 2-21, Axar Patel 1-20) by 20 runs