IPL 2021: Not a bad birthday present, says Pant after Delhi's win over CSK

Dubai - Delhi Capitals regained the top position in the table with 20 points

Shimron Hetmyer smashed 28 runs off 18 balls to help Delhi Capitals register a thrilling three-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday.

Despite CSK scoring 136 in the allotted 20 overs, the match went down to the wire with both teams fighting hard for the win in the last over.

With this win, Delhi Capitals regained the top position in the table with 20 points.

Chennai skipper MS Dhoni felt the result could have been different if his team had scored 10-15 runs more.

“We were looking to get close to 150. After we lost a few wickets - and around the 15-16 over wicket - we were looking good. There were shots played... and if it had come down to eight or ten deliveries, it could have made a difference,” Dhoni said.

In the last two overs, Delhi Capitals needed 16 runs to win and Hetmyer smashed 10 from the 19th. Moreover, Dwayne Bravo removed Axar Patel in the final over but Kagiso Rabada hit a four to finally seal the game for Delhi Capitals.

Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant, who turned 24 on Monday, said the victory was a good birthday present.

“Not a bad birthday present, but in the end, we made it tough for us. We were always in the chase since it was a low total,” Pant said.

Chasing 137, Delhi Capitals got off to a bad start as the side lost Prithvi Shaw in the third over. However, Shikhar Dhawan launched a counter-attack as he hammered 21 runs in Deepak Chahar’s over.

For Delhi Capitals, Axar, who was named man-of-the-match, took two wickets while Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket each.