IPL 2018, DD vs CSK: 5 talking points

Delhi Daredevils might be out of contention from a playoff spot in the 2018 IPL, they managed to make things interesting at the top of the points table by upsetting second-placed Chennai Super Kings in front of their home crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday.

The hosts started off slowly but managed to make a strong finish, with 26 runs being scored off the final over bowled by Dwayne Bravo which allowed Delhi to post 162 runs on the board in their 20 overs.

CSK started well in their run-chase with Ambati Rayudu scoring yet another half-century but MS Dhoni's side lost their way in the middle overs once the Delhi spinners came into the attack and ultimately ended up losing the match by 34 runs.

Here are the 5 major talking points from tonight's match.

---

#5 Delhi's laborious start

Delhi Daredevils have had a disappointing IPL campaign yet again but have some promising signs to build upon with a number of Indian youngsters making their mark with skipper Shreyas Iyer leading from the front along with Rishabh Pant.

The duo, along with Prithvi Shaw has been giving Delhi plenty of good starts off late but tonight, it was a different story as the trio failed to provide the kind of start their fans might have been hoping for.

Shaw struggled to get any timing behind his shots while Iyer looked uncomfortable all night long after opening the innings. The former was dismissed for a run-a-ball 17 while the Delhi skipper managed just 19 off 22 balls.

Shaw fared much better, scoring 38 runs off 26 balls, but was far from his best tonight before falling to Lungi Ngidi in the same over as his skipper.

Delhi managed just 39 runs in the powerplay overs and while Iyer and Pant managed to add 54 runs in 38 balls for the second wicket, the two quick wickets followed by yet another Glenn Maxwell failure meant that the hosts were struggling with just 94 runs on the board in 14 overs.

#4 Glenn Maxwell's dismal season continues

It was a big surprise to see Glenn Maxwell retain his place yet again tonight

Former South African skipper Graeme Smith's suggestion that Australian coaches in the IPL are being biased towards their fellow international players in the IPL has generated a lot of talking.

Nobody has been a bigger beneficiary than Glenn Maxwell in this regard with Delhi Daredevils' Ricky Ponting continuing to back the all-rounder despite his repeated failures on the field.

Even when Delhi decided to go in with just three overseas players in their eleven for tonight's match, Maxwell retained his place in the side.

But Maxwell once again failed to repay the faith shown in him as he gifted his wicket to Ravindra Jadeja playing a reverse sweep that was never on. More than his failure to get going, it is the manner of his dismissals that continues to be more frustrating for those wanting the Australian to come good.

#3 Dwayne Bravo concedes 26 runs off his final over

Bravo has been ineffective with his slow balls this season

Dwayne Bravo has been a wonderful player for Chennai Super Kings and has been MS Dhoni's go-to man in the death overs and it was no surprise that the franchise used the RTM card to retain the West Indian all-rounder in their ranks for the 2018 IPL.

He missed the 2017 IPL for Gujarat Lions due to injury and has been a pale shadow of his usual best throughout the campaign barring the opening match against Mumbai Indians where he smashed his side to victory with an amazing knock with the bat.

However, it is with the ball that Bravo is crucial to Chennai's chances but he has been below par in that department and seems to have lost the confidence of bowling in the death overs.

It was the case again tonight as the Delhi duo of Harshal Patel and Vijay Shankar smashing the West Indian for 26 runs in the final over of their innings. The slow deliveries that used to be his biggest asset have been the one that the batsmen have targetted the most.

The wickets have also dried up and the opposition have found it easy to tackle Bravo's deliveries and while CSK may have made it to the playoffs, there will be concern's about Bravo's bowling heading into the business end of the campaign.

#2 CSK's meek run-chase

Dhoni couldn't work his magic with the run-chase tonight

CSK are generally a good side when it comes to chasing targets, and not without surprise with someone like MS Dhoni leading the side but tonight the Chennai-based franchise were way off the mark.

They started off well, keeping their wickets intact in the powerplay overs while scoring 44 runs and was looking on course with Ambati Rayudu in good touch as has been the case throughout the campaign.

However, once the Delhi spinners - Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichchane came into the attack, the CSK run-rate slowed down considerably with no one apart from Rayudu able to get going.

Rayudu scored yet another half-century but found little support from the other end and once he was dismissed by Harshal Patel in the tenth over, CSK totally lost their way even with MS Dhoni's presence at the crease.

#1 Spinners lead Delhi to victory

Mishra picked up two wickets conceding just 20 runs in his four overs

The death-over hitting by Harshal Patel and Vijay Shankar might have helped Delhi Daredevils make a late surge to post 162 runs in their 20 overs, but considering the batting strength of CSK, it was still an under-par score and required their bowlers to perform exceptionally well to make a match out of the contest.

The visitors made a cautious start to their run-chase, scoring 22 runs in their first five overs before scoring the same amount of runs in the final powerplay over.

Amit Mishra's introduction in the seventh over yielded a wicket right away though with Shane Watson's struggle at the crease coming to an end at 14 off 23 balls. The leg-spinner could have added the wicket of Suresh Raina as well off the next ball only for Rishabh Pant to miss a tough chance.

It did, however, give an indication that the spinners were going to play a key role for Delhi. While it was the medium pace of Harshal Patel that got rid of the dangerous Ambati Rayudu, Mishra accounted for Sam Billings as well before he completed his quota of four overs. Nepalese teenage sensation Sandeep Lamichchane got rid of Suresh Raina to put their side in a very strong position against CSK.

Mishra conceded just 20 runs in his four overs picking up two wickets, while Lamichchane conceded only one run more and also picked up Raina's wicket.

The Delhi pacers also did well but it was the spinners who managed to get the key wickets and thereby exert pressure on the CSK run-chase, ultimately paving the way for a comfortable win.

---

Our tournament homepage has IPL live score, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more. Bookmark it now!