Pant finally fires, leads DC to easy win against CSK
Visakhapatnam, March 31
Comeback man Rishabh Pant hit a much-awaited fifty after David Warner’s well-constructed 52 to set up Delhi Capitals’ convincing 20-run win over Chennai Super Kings for whom MS Dhoni’s vintage knock was not enough to cross the line in their IPL match here today.
CSK tried to get the tough 192-run target through Ajinkya Rahane (45), Dhoni (37 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (34) but DC did enough on the night. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (2/21) set the tone with his twin strikes in the Powerplay which led to its fruition by pacer Mukesh Kumar (3/21).
In the first session, Warner and Prithvi Shaw (43) overcame a slow start to share a 93-run opening stand before Pant’s 32-ball 51 powered DC to 191/5. Pant belted four boundaries and three maximums for his first fifty in 15 months.
Mohit’s masterclass
Ahmedabad: Dishing out an all-round show, Gujarat Titans brought down high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad with a clinical seven-wicket win. Veteran seamer Mohit Sharma was at his deceptive best in the last over for his splendid figures of 3/25, while Afghan spin twins Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad bossed the middle overs as GT restricted the marauding SRH to 162/8.
South African batter David Miller found his flair in a 44 not out from 27 balls to anchor the chase despite suffering cramps.
Brief scores: DC: 191/5 (Warner 52, Pant 51, Shaw 43; Pathirana 3/31) vs CSK: 171/6 (Rahane 45, Dhoni 37*; Mukesh 3/21, Khaleel 2/21); SRH: 162/8 (Abhishek 29, Samad 29; Mohit 3/25) vs GT: 168/3 in 19.1 overs (Sudharsan 45, Miller 44*).
