Shadap Jakati spins Chennai to victory

Left-arm slow bowler Shadap Jakati spun the Chennai Super Kings back into contention in the Indian Premier League with an 18-run win over the Delhi Daredevils at the Wanderers Stadium Saturday.

David Warner (51) and Dinesh Karthik (52) took Delhi within sight of overhauling a disappointing Chennai total of 163 all out on the best batting pitch of the tournament so far.

Warner was making his IPL debut because regular Delhi captain Virender Sehwag needed four stitches in his left hand after trying to take a catch in his team’s win against the Deccan Chargers Thursday. But both men fell to Jakati and Delhi limped to 145 for eight. Jakati took four for 24.

The win lifted Chennai, last year’s beaten finalists, from seventh to fourth on the log.

Chennai seemed set for a big total when they hurried to 112 for two in the 13th over with Matthew Hayden (30), Suresh Raina (32) and Subramanian Badrinath (45) all scoring comfortably at better than a run a ball on a true, hard pitch.

Raina and Badrinath were dismissed in the 13th and 15th overs respectively, bringing the Chennai side’s big hitters, Albie Morkel and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, together.

Instead of a burst of scoring in the closing overs, left-arm fast bowlers Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra ploughed through the middle and lower order batting.

Morkel fell to Nehra for six and Dhoni to Nannes for the same score. Both bowlers took three for 27.

Delhi were rocked by fast bowler Sudeep Tyagi, 21, who dismissed stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir and AB de Villiers with successive deliveries with the total on 20.

Gambhir fell to a reflex catch by Raina at short cover, while De Villiers was bowled by a ball which straightened between bat and pad.

Jakati bowled Tillekeratne Dilshan with a superb delivery before Warner and Karthik came together in a fourth wicket stand of 74. But Warner took a wild swing at a ball from Jakati and was stumped in the 16th over to start a Delhi collapse.

Chennai 163 all out in 20 overs (M. Hayden 30, S. Raina 32, S. Badrinath 45; D. Nannes 3-27, A. Nehra 3-27, R. Bhatia 2-17). Delhi 145-8 in 20 overs (D. Warner 51, D. Karthik 52, S. Tyagi 2-18, S. Jakati 4-24). Chennai won by 18 runs

JOHANNESBURG, Sunday (AFP)