Delhi beats Chennai by 3 wickets to take over IPL lead

In this file photo taken on May 5, 2019, Kings XI Punjab cricketer Chris Gayle plays a shot during the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. (File/AFP)

• No. 2 Delhi moved above Chennai on the table with a round to go in the group stage
• Chennai wasted a good opportunity to sneak out a win when Delhi was still 22 runs behind

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Delhi Capitals hung in to beat Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in a contest between the Indian Premier League’s No. 1 and 2 teams on Monday.
No. 2 Delhi moved above Chennai on the table with a round to go in the group stage. Both teams have already qualified for the playoffs but a top-two place offers a shorter route to the Oct. 15 final.
Shimron Hetmyer, dropped on 12 in Delhi’s chase, went on to make an unbeaten 28 off 18 balls to give his side a winning 139-7 with two balls to spare.
Chennai struggled to 136-5 after Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant won the toss on his 24th birthday and opted to field first.
“Not a bad birthday present,” Pant said.
Shardul Thakur’s (2-13) twin strikes in the 15th over brought Chennai back into the game when the fast bowler clean bowled Ravichandran Ashwin and then-top-scorer Shikhar Dhawan (39) was brilliantly snapped in the covers by Moeen Ali.
Dhawan, one of three batsmen to score more than 500 runs this season, hit three fours and two sixes before chipping a catch to Ali.
Chennai wasted a good opportunity to sneak out a win when Delhi was still 22 runs behind. However, substitute fielder Krishnappa Gowtham missed a dolly catch of Hetmyer at long on when the ball burst through his hands and crossed the boundary for four.
Earlier, Axar Patel (2-18) and Ashwin (1-20) tied down Chennai despite Ambati Rayudu scoring a 43-ball knock of 54.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn’t score a boundary in making 18 runs off 27 balls before edging to Pant behind the wickets in the last over.
“It’s a two-paced wicket, some balls come to you and some don’t,” Dhoni said. “It’s not a placid wicket where you can play your shots … it was a very good effort (by the bowlers), but it was important not to give away too many in the first six overs.”