Zaheer Khan claimed two for nine to help Delhi Dardevils – already out of contention for playoffs – stun top-ranked Chennai Super Kings.
Raipur: Opener Shreyas Iyer struck an unbeaten 70 after veteran pacer Zaheer Khan led a brilliant bowling show as Delhi Daredevils notched up a comprehensive six-wicket win over table toppers Chennai Super Kings in their IPL cricket match here on Tuesday.
Electing to bat, Chennai scored just 119 for 6 with Zaheer returning with superb figures of 2 for 9 from his four overs and Albie Morkel chipping in with two wickets as Delhi produced a disciplined bowling show at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.
Chasing the small target of 120, Delhi, who are already out of contention for a play-off berth, lost two quick wickets to be reduced to 24 for two in the fifth over as opener Quinton de Kock (3) and captain Jean-Paul Duminy (6) were out cheaply.
But young Iyer and veteran Yuvraj Singh (32) repaired the Delhi innings with a 69-run stand for the third wicket and set up the easy victory with 3.2 overs to spare.
20-year-old Iyer, who was dropped on 32 in the ninth over, hit 10 fours and a six in his 49-ball unbeaten knock on a slowish track while Yuvraj, who was out in the 14th over, struck four boundaries and a six in his 28-ball innings.
Iyer hit the winning run, a single, as Delhi reached 120 for 4 in 16.4 overs.
For Chennai, Ishwar Pandey and Pawan Negi took two wickets apiece. Tuesday’s win was Delhi’s fifth from 13 matches and in the process they snapped their four-match losing streak this season though the victory did not have much significance as they remain on seventh spot in the league table with 10 points with one match left to play.
Interestingly, Delhi snapped their seven-match losing streak against Chennai in the IPL.
For Chennai, Tuesday’s loss means they are yet to seal a play-off berth though they still remain on top of league table with 16 points from 13 matches with one match left to play.
Earlier, Delhi produced a disciplined bowling show to restrict Chennai to 119 for six. Chennai found scoring difficult as they failed to build partnerships while losing wickets at regular intervals.
Chennai, one of the most consistent IPL sides, made a slow start and lost three wickets by the halfway mark before top-scorer Faf du Plessis (29 off 23 balls) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (27 off 24 balls) tried to repair the innings with a 36-run stand for the fourth wicket but in vain.
For Delhi, Zaheer (2/9) and Morkel (2/21) were the top bowlers while Gurinder Sandhu and Jayant Yadav took a wicket apiece.
In-form opener Brendon McCullum struggled at the crease and was the first Chennai batsman to be dismissed in the sixth over bowled by Zaheer for just 11. The Kiwi drove into the hands of Delhi captain Jean-Paul Duminy at mid-off off a fuller ball outside the off-stump.
The other opener Dwayne Smith (18) and one-down Suresh Raina (11) followed McCullum to the dressing room in the ninth and 10th over respectively as Chennai suffered jolts in quick succession to be reduced to 46 for 3 at the halfway mark.
Smith fell to Morkel’s first delivery of the match as he was rapped on the pads in front of middle and off stumps from a pitched-up delivery.
Next over, Raina was out off a soft dismissal as he came down the track only to chip the ball straight down the throat of Duminy again off the bowling of Jayant Yadav.
Du Plessis and Dhoni tried to stitch a partnership but they separated in the 16th over. The South African dragged a Morkel delivery onto his stumps after facing 23 balls from which he hit three boundaries.
Dhoni hoisted Yuvraj Singh for a six and then got a four as Chennai took 13 runs from the 17th over. Bravo followed suit of his captain by smacking a six in the next over but perished while attempting another big hit off the bowling of Gurinder Sandhu.
Dhoni, who hit three fours and a six, was out in the penultimate over and Chennai ended their innings on a below par score.
