Delhi Capitals have outplayed then table-toppers Chennai Super Kings to secure the leaderboard of the Indian Premier League 2021.

Last season’s runner-ups overcame Chennai Super Kings in a last-over thriller.

The game went down to the wire despite a low target set for the Capitals.

DC are now at 20 points. Both teams have already qualified for the playoffs.

Rayudu returns to form

CSK veteran Ambati Rayudu struck an unbeaten 55* to announce his return to form.

This is his first fifty since coming to the UAE for the second leg of the tournament.

The batting innings started on a good note for Dhoni’s men with both Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis hitting the ball crisply until the former Proteas skipper let Axar Patel take his scalp.

In-form Gaikwad also lost his wicket in the fifth over.

With Robin Utthapa and Moeen Ali failing tonight, Rayudu played sensibly and anchored the CSK innings to finish at 136/5. 

Dhawan, Hetmeyer boost Delhi’s hopes early

The Delhi batters went for a defensive approach early on in the inning, but that resulted in dismissal of Prtihvi Shaw.

Shikhar Dhawan played his typical knock for his 39 runs, but Shardul Thakur got the better of him later.

When Shreyas Iyer stepped in, he couldn’t take advantage of the momentum as he fell to Josh Hazlewood.

Delhi captain Rishabh Pant looked in a fine nick, but he fell to Ravindra Jadeja in the ninth over.

At the halfway mark, the Capitals found themselves at 75/3.

At the end, it was Shimron Hetmyer, who’se 28* not out on only 18 balls won Delhi the game. His cameo included a six and four.

Delhi Capitals 139 for 7 (Dhawan 39, Hetmyer 28*, Thakur 2-13) beat Chennai Super Kings 136 for 5 (Rayudu 55, Axar 2-18) by three wickets.

Match preview – RR vs MI

Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians will lock horns at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium tomorrow (Tuesday).

The game will commence at 7:30 pm (India Time).

Probable best performers

Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals captain has been consistently registering match-saving knocks for Rajasthan.

The skipper has, however, lacked support from the other end in most occasions.

He has been the backbone of Royals’ batting line-up that has been holding them together like glue in Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes’ absence.

Samson averages 48 this season, with a total score of 480 in 12 games.

Quinton de Kock

The South African keeper has shown glimpses of long innings this IPL, but he has failed to make it big so far.

The former Proteas Test captain is likely to go ballistic in the coming game.

He has been middling the ball quite well in the opening overs.

However, the reigning champions now demand him to bat beyond the powerplay more often.

Match prediction

Mumbai Indians have failed to live up to their hype despite being the current league winners.

Rohit Sharma is out of form and their top gun all-rounders have not shown any eagerness to make an impact this season.

They are coming off a loss as well.

On the flip side, Rajasthan are coming into the Tuesday contest with a win over in-form Chennai Super Kings.

Their bunch will be brimming with confidence and eager to defeat MI to step closer to a playoff berth.