IPL 2018: MS Dhoni, Shane Watson pass with flying colours for Chennai Super Kings; bowlers let Delhi Daredevils down

The Chennai Super Kings got back to winning ways as they beat the Delhi Daredevils by 13 runs at their "new home" in Pune.

After winning the toss, Daredevils captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first. However, the decision backfired when Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis got the Super Kings off to a flying start with a 102-run opening stand. Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni’s whirlwind knocks of 41 and 51 runs respectively later on propelled them to a score of 211/4.

Batting second, Delhi got off to a good start with Colin Munro trying to pick up the run rate. However, his innings was cut short by the debutant KM Asif on 26 runs with Delhi at 46/2 in the fifth over. Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar tried their best with individual contributions of 79 and 54 runs respectively but that didn't prove to be enough in the end as they fell short of the target by 13 runs.

Vijay Shankar of Delhi Daredevils shake hands with Chennai Super Kings players after the match. Sportzpics

Here's a look at how all the players fared in this match.

MS Dhoni - 10/10

Super Kings captain Dhoni scored yet another quickfire fifty on Monday. He walked out to bat in the 14th over and started bludgeoning the ball right from the start. He remained unbeaten on 51 runs off 22 deliveries and thus helped his team to a score of 211/4.

Rishabh Pant - 10/10

Pant’s 79-run knock off 45 balls came in a losing cause. But he was the one who kept Delhi in the chase single-handedly through a major portion of the match. Delhi had hopes till he was at the crease.

Shane Watson - 9/10

The former Australian all-rounder played a fabulous innings once again as he smashed his way to a 78-run knock off 40 balls, which included four fours and seven hugs sixes. He took the attack to the Delhi bowlers early on and got Chennai off to a flying start, stitching an opening stand of 102 runs with Du Plessis.

Ambati Rayudu - 9/10

Rayudu was once again asked to bat in the middle order on Monday and he did the job successfully once. Walking out to bat at No 4 in the 12th over, Rayudu played a very good hand of 41 runs off just 24 deliveries.

Vijay Shankar - 9/10

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder proved his worth with a fine all-round performance. He bowled two overs for 22 runs but was successful in picking up the wicket of Du Plessis. Later on, he played a wonderful hand of 54 runs off 31 deliveries and thus kept Delhi’s chances alive till the end.

Lungi Ngidi - 8/10

Ngidi’s IPL debut turned out to be a pretty fruitful one as he returned with bowling figures of 4-0-26-1. He was the one who dismissed Pant and he bowled with good pace throughout his spell.

Faf du Plessis - 7/10

Although he played a pretty ordinary run-a-ball knock of 33 runs, his involvement in the 102-run opening stand with Watson made his role pretty crucial.

KM Asif - 7/10

The debutant bowled with a lot of heart and courage. Although he got thrashed away for 43 runs in his three overs, he still returned with the wickets of the two Delhi openers, Prithvi Shaw and Munro.

Colin Munro - 7/10

The Kiwi all-rounder gave the Daredevils the initial thrust they needed. He scored 26 runs off just 16 deliveries but failed to convert it into a big one.

Ravindra Jadeja - 6/10

Jadeja hadn't been used much with the ball prior to this match. However, Dhoni used his full quota of four overs in this match, in which he conceded 31 runs and claimed the all-important wicket of Glenn Maxwell.

Amit Mishra - 6/10

Mishra bowled well once again in this match. In all the carnage, he maintained a good economy rate and also picked up the wicket of Watson. His bowling figures read 4-0-30-1.

Avesh Khan - 5/10

The young pacer impressed with the ball as he registered bowling figures of 4-0-28-0. He was unfortunate at times to not get a wicket.

Harbhajan Singh - 5/10

Harbhajan might not have picked up any wicket but he tightened the screws on the Delhi batsmen in his four-over spell, in which he conceded just 26 runs.

Glenn Maxwell - 4/10

Maxwell did pick up the wicket of Suresh Raina and gave away just five runs in the solitary over he bowled, but he failed to contribute with the bat which is his main job.

Shreyas Iyer - 3/10

The Daredevils captain was run-out in this match for an individual contribution of 13 runs. This was exactly when Chennai established their stronghold on the match.

Prithvi Shaw - 2/10

The young batsman started off his innings with two sweetly timed boundaries. However, he fell prey to the debutant Asif’s bowling afterwards for an individual score off nine runs off five deliveries.

Rahul Tewatia - 2/10

Tewatia’s form has tapered off in the last few innings. He conceded 23 runs in his two overs and then walked out to bat towards the end to register just three runs to his name off four deliveries.

Suresh Raina - 1/10

The southpaw failed to contribute to Chennai’s victory on Monday as he was dismissed for just a solitary run. He was cleaned up only in his second delivery by Maxwell in the 12th over of their innings.

Trent Boult - 1/10

The Kiwi pacer had an off day on Monday. He was smashed all around the park and ended up conceding 48 runs in his four overs.

Liam Plunkett - 1/10

The England bowler was taken to the cleaners on Monday by Watson. He registered poor bowling figures of 3-0-52-0. Watson and Du Plessis were the ones who started the carnage, hitting him for 20 runs in his very first over.

Dwyane Bravo - 1/10

The West Indian all-rounder proved to be very expensive with his bowling. He conceded 43 runs in his three overs.

Karn Sharma - NA

Karn wasn't even used for a single over by Dhoni on Monday. It wouldn't be fair to rate him.

Rating chart: 10-9: Excellent, 8-7: Good, 6-5: Average, 4-3: Poor, 2-1: Very poor

Updated Date: May 01, 2018 02:52 PM