IPL 2021, CSK v DC: 3 turning points of the match

Two keeper-captains clashed in the high-octane encounter between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals (DC), as the Indian Premier League (IPL) caravan moved to Mumbai.

On paper, DC entered the contest with some gaps. Shreyas Iyer was out due to injury and South Africans Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje were serving their quarantine period after their series against Pakistan.

The match held its own intrigue - would the likes of Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni hold their own with the bat without much match practice? How would young Rishabh Pant fare in his first game as IPL skipper? Ultimately, nobody would have expected the demolition of CSK that DC carried out.

Here are the top three turning points of the CSK v DC IPL game.

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#3 CSK's lefties 2-1 Ravi Ashwin

Suresh Raina converted a run-a-ball start into a flamboyant fifty after a huge over against Ashwin.

Two early wickets had put MS Dhoni's team on the mat. At 48 for 2 after 8 overs, the rebuild was on, but the scoreboard didn't offer CSK any comfort. It was then that Rishabh Pant unleashed the bowler with an extraordinary success rate against left-handers internationally, Ravichandran Ashwin, onto Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina.

However, the IPL veteran had a nightmare outing against his former team. In the ninth over, Moeen Ali launched him for two sixes to get the scoreboard moving. Though he fell to an uncharacteristic shot the next ball, the over was worsened with Raina hitting another six. The shift in momentum was crucial to get Raina's innings underway, after which he imposed himself on the proceedings.

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#2 Sam Curran wins the brother battle against Tom

Sam Curran continued his batting form from the previous season, taking a liking to his brother's bowling.

A spate of wickets, including MS Dhoni departing for his first duck since IPL 2015, saw CSK in the familiar situation of relying on Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for a strong finish. Though Tom Curran had given his brother a freebie earlier, the floodgates truly opened in the penultimate over.

Sam feasted on the slower variations bowled by the DC pacer, as Tom's figures deteriorated from 3-0-17-1 to 4-0-40-1. Although Chris Woakes bowled a good final over, knocking Sam over last ball, DC were left chasing a tall 189 for victory when they could have kept CSK to much less.

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#1 DC's openers get into the groove

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw piled misery onto the CSK bowlers with a massive partnership.

Though both DC openers looked comfortable after the first three overs, they had 24 runs on the board. As the asking rate crept up near 10 runs an over, Shikhar Dhawan chose Sam Curran's second over to put pressure on the CSK bowling.

An over which started with two singles had Dhawan whip one away for four. One ball later, the southpaw announced his intentions with a six down the ground. Prithvi Shaw ended the over with a sumptuous cover drive, as the 17-run over was followed by some battering of Shardul Thakur for the same number of runs.

DC finished the powerplay with nearly double of CSK's tally in the same phase, largely due to the onslaught in the fourth over.