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New Delhi, 5 May. After the tension of the bowlers on Tuesday night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, opener Sanju Samson’s bat roared again and with the help of his explosive half-century (87 not out, 52 balls, six sixes, seven fours), five-time former champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets with 15 balls remaining in a relatively low-scoring match of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL-19).

After a bad start, the hosts reached 155 with the partnership of Stubbs and Sameer.

Actually, Axar Patel’s decision to bat first did not prove to be effective as only 69 runs could be added at the loss of five wickets in 11 overs in front of other bowlers including Noor Ahmed (2-22). It was fortunate that Sameer Rizvi (40 not out, 24 balls, four sixes) and Tristan Stubbs (38 runs, 31 balls, two sixes, one four) made a partnership of 65 runs in 47 balls for the sixth wicket, due to which the host team could reach only 155 runs for seven wickets.

Unbroken match winning partnership of 114 runs between Samson and Karthik

In retaliation, CSK also lost two wickets at 45. But ‘Player of the Match’ Sanju, who has already scored two centuries in the current season, made a match-winning partnership of 114 runs in just 66 balls with Karthik Sharma (41 not out, 31 balls, two sixes, four fours) in the midst of a half-century and the guests scored 159 runs for two wickets in 17.3 overs.

Chennai’s second consecutive win over Delhi in the current season.

If seen, Rituraj Gaikwad’s team’s superiority over Delhi remained intact in the current season. On April 11 last, it had won over Delhi by 23 runs on its own ground also. However, this result had no impact on the points table because while CSK remained at sixth position with 10 points after the fifth win in 10 matches, Delhi remained at seventh position with eight points after the sixth defeat in 10 matches.

score card

If we look at CSK’s innings while chasing the common target, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (six runs, one four) fell victim to Lungi Ngidi (1-30) in the fourth over, while new batsman Urvil Patel (17 runs, nine balls, two sixes) hit sixes against Ngidi on the last two balls of the powerplay, taking the score to 44 runs. However, Urvil also gave away the wicket of Akshar Patel (1-25) in the very next over. Currently, Samson changed gears with the support of 20-year-old Rajasthan wicketkeeper batsman Karthik.

Sanju and Karthik’s century partnership took just 61 balls.

Karthik Sharma, who scored an unbeaten half-century against Mumbai Indians in the last match, also immediately got into the mood. Samson completed the half-century partnership against Kuldeep Yadav in just 31 balls by hitting two consecutive sixes and a four and completed his half-century in 32 balls by stealing a run on the next ball. The century partnership of both came in just 61 balls. After this, Karthik gave victory to the team by hitting sixes and fours on consecutive balls against Natarajan in the 18th over.

Delhi batsmen could add only 37 runs in the powerplay.

Before this, the first blow to Delhi was given by left-arm pacer Mukesh Chaudhary (1-31) in the fourth over, when Pathum Nissanka (19 runs, 15 balls, one six, three fours) returned. The highest individual score of the current season (152 not out) was scored by the wicket of Akil Hussain (1-19) in the sixth over. When the powerplay ended, only 37 runs were recorded on the score board.

Delhi could score only 69 runs for 5 wickets in 11 overs.

Then came the turn of Afghan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmed, who dismissed Karun Nair (13 runs, 13 balls, two fours) and Nitish Rana (15 runs, 13 balls, two fours) in consecutive overs, while the out-of-form Akshar Patel (two runs) gave away the wicket of Gurjapneet Singh (1-29) on the last ball of the 11th over (5-69).

Stubbs, Sameer and Ashutosh added 56 runs in the last 5 overs.

At present, Rizvi, who came to the crease in the capacity of stubs and ‘impact player’, batted cautiously after this. In this sequence, the team’s 100 runs were completed in the 16th over and Sameer completed the half-century partnership in 39 balls by hitting a six against Chaudhary in the 18th over. However, Jamie Overton (1-5) dismissed Stubbs in the next over. But Ashutosh Sharma (14 runs, five balls, two sixes) and Rizvi scored 20 runs including three sixes on Anshul Kamboj (0-49) in the last over, taking the score beyond 150. This also included 58 runs added in the last five overs.

Wednesday’s match: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings (Hyderabad, 7.30 PM).