Dhawan's maiden ton takes DC to five-wicket win over CSK

Sharjah, October 17, 2020

Shikhar Dhawan scored his maiden T20 century while Axar Patel knocked off the required 17 runs off the last over with ease as Delhi Capitals beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Dhawan ended the match unbeaten on 101 off 58 balls while Axar smashed three sixes in the last over to remain unbeaten on 21 off just five balls.

CSK had scored 179/5 in their 20 overs thanks to a late surge from Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja, while DC ended the game on 185/5 with a ball left.

DC were helped in their chase by a series of misfields and dropped catches by the CSK players. Dhawan was first dropped in the seventh over when he was on 25 and later in the 16th over by Rayudu when he was on 79.

CSK wicketkeeper MS Dhoni was also late to a potential catch off Dhawan in the 10th over just after he had scored his half-century.

Earlier, Rayudu (45 not out) and Jadeja (33 not out) combined to score 50 runs off the last 21 balls for the Chennai Super Kings to take them to 179/4 wickets in their 20 overs.

CSK were handed an early setback when they lost opener Sam Curran for a duck off the third ball of the match but Shane Watson (36) and Faf du Plessis (58) scored 87 runs for the second wicket.

DC, however, closed in between the 10th and 15th over, dismissing both Watson and du Plessis before CSK captain MS Dhoni (3) fell to Anrich Nortje.

Jadeja and Rayudu swung the momentum CSK's way with their fifth wicket stand, leaving DC with a target of 180 to win the match and keep up with the top-ranked Mumbai Indians.

Brief scores: CSK 179/4 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 58, Ambati Rayudu 45 not out; Anrich Nortje 2/33) vs DC 185/5 in 19.5 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 101, Marcus Stoinis 24; Deepak Chahar 2/18)

IANS