CSK vs DC 17th match, KL Rahul scored his maiden fifty of the season off 33 balls, hitting three sixes and two fours for six sixes and two fours.
Khaleel Ahmed of CSK bowled their first over, producing singles throughout.
Ruturaj Gaikwad reacts well to Mitchell Starc’s short ball and takes it into the boundary, breaking DC’s batsmen through at Chepauk.
Axar Patel’s Innings
DC won the toss and decided to bat first, looking to set an ambitious target on a pitch that tends to favor spinners. Khaleel Ahmed gave them a headstart as he sent JFM packing back, but Abishek Porel and KL Rahul quickly hit back with some impressive bowling performances of their own.
Mukesh Choudhary was hit for two fours and sixes during one over, marking an excellent strike rate against him and making over 20 runs off nine balls since.
Choudhary struck again in the final over, smashing a fuller delivery straight to long leg and nearly forcing an error before seeing the ball land just short of extra cover. That wicket fell for CSK soon afterwards – Ruturaj Gaikwad soon followed suit despite Vijay Shankar’s fine 77-ball innings; matheesha Pathirana bowled an outstanding spell to ensure they finished on 183/6.
KL Rahul’s half-century
KL Rahul continued his outstanding innings by mixing elegance with brute force to reach his half-century. He took two sixes off Noor Ahmad and Jadeja, on his way to becoming only the 37th IPL fifty. Together with Sameer Rizvi he shared a 56-run stand until Sameer holed out at deep midwicket to Khaleel Ahmed for 51.
Abishhek Porel hit Mukesh Choudhary for three fours and sixes consecutively to take DC’s total beyond 150 in the penultimate over. But eventually he was dismissed with an outstanding 42-ball 64.
Ravichandran Ashwin then bowled an excellent over, but Delhi were hit hard when Axar Patel offered Matheesha Pathirana an easy catch. Noor Ahmed then replaced him, only for Tristan Stubbs to smash him for 19 runs – hitting sixes over long on and fours towards long off in just one over! That over was ultimately DC’s undoing as they were bowled out for 183 in 20 overs.
Vipraj Nigam’s wicket
Delhi Capitals appeared destined for defeat when they reached 65 for 5 in their pursuit of 210, but impact player Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam, 20, from Lucknow who made his DC debut this match, turned things around dramatically. Nigam smashed 39 runs off 15 balls to spark this dramatic turnaround while leg-spinner Nirmal Rishi took down LSG opener Aiden Markram early in his spell and ended with figures of 1/35.
Nigam was purchased for Rs 50 lakh at auction by Delhi Capitals and demonstrated his worth with an outstanding innings in an intra-squad match prior to this match. He boasts an excellent record in domestic competition and can handle pressure well.
Axar Patel’s final over
KL Rahul displayed both elegance and brute force to hit six fours and three sixes in 41 balls as Delhi Capitals (DC) posted an impressive 183/6 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 17th Match of Indian Premier League 2025. Abishek Porel provided support with 54 runs before Matheesha Pathirana bowled an exceptional final over to stop Delhi’s late charge.
Khaleel Ahmed struck early to deny CSK the momentum they sought, taking Jake Fraser-McGurk’s wicket with his first over. Mukesh Kumar followed that up by restricting run rate with dot balls while Devon Conway was sent back by Mitchell Starc. Vipraj Nigam then managed to catch Shivam Dube at long-on while Stubbs dropped an opportunity off a promoted Dhoni to keep pressure on CSK.
