IPL 2019: Chennai Super Kings cruise to the finals with a convincing win over Delhi Capitals 

Chennai Super Kings have cruised to the IPL 2019 finals, beating Delhi Capitals by six wickets in the 2nd qualifier played at Vizag on Friday. It was a dominant performance by CSK who restricted DC to a modest total and then chased down the target with ease.

CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. Shikhar Dhawan got off to a decent start, putting pressure on Shardul Thakur, but Deepak Chahar got the breakthrough by dismissing Prithvi Shaw for 5.

Harbhajan Singh then dismissed the other opener Dhawan for 18 runs to continue the good early work by the CSK bowlers. At the end of six overs, Delhi Capitals were 41 for 2.

After the power play, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Colin Munro for 27 off 24 balls. The CSK bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals and did not allow Delhi Capitals to score runs with ease.

Deepak Chahar dismissed the dangerous Rishabh Pant for 38. Trent Boult, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma then scored cameos to help Delhi Capitals score 147 for 9 in 20 overs.

Chasing the target of 148 runs, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis got off to a cautious start. But Du Plessis soon upped the aggression and started putting pressure on Delhi Capitals, while Watson gave him support. At the end of six overs, the CSK openers had taken the score to 42 for 0.

After the power play, both Du Plessis and Watson opened their shoulders and started striking the ball confidently. Du Plessis reached his fifty off 37 balls, before Boult dismissed him for 50. Du Plessis and Watson had added 81 runs for the opening wicket.

Watson reached his fifty off 31 balls and was soon dismissed by Amit Mishra for 50. Suresh Raina failed again, scoring just 11 runs, but Ambati Rayudu remained not out on 20 off 20 balls.

Chennai Super Kings won the match by 6 wickets with 1 over to spare. They have now reached their 8th IPL final and will take on Mumbai Indians on 12th May 2019 at Hyderabad.

Brief scores: CSK 151 for 4 in 19 overs (Shane Watson 50, Faf du Plessis 50, Trent Boult 1/20) beat Delhi Capitals 147 for 9 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 38, Deepak Chahar 2/28, Ravindra Jadeja 2/23, Bravo 2/19) by 6 wickets.