Chennai 150-7, 20 ov (Smith 34, Du Plessis 32; Coulter-Nile 3-30)
Delhi 149-9, 20 ov (Morkel 73 not out, Jadhav 20; Nehra 3-25, Bravo 2-36)
MS Dhoni-led Chennai put the recent controversy involving erstwhile co-owner Gurunath Meiyappan’s alleged involvement in spot-fixing behind them to come away winners in a sparsely-filled MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday night.
After being asked to bat first, the home team lost wickets at regular intervals as none of the five batsmen who got into double figures kicked on to score big, and eventually all they got on the board was 150.
Chennai, however, raised their game on the field – as they have on several occasions in the past – to keep Delhi’s batsmen in check. Ashish Nehra pegged the visitors back with two early wickets. And when Yuvraj Singh, the league’s most expensive player, was dismissed for nine, Albie Morkel was left with much to do to keep his side in the game.
The all-rounder paced his innings brilliantly to take Delhi within striking distance. Needing to hit a six off the last ball to win, he narrowly missed clearing the boundary as Delhi lost by just one run.
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