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With the Chennai Super Kings posting 188 in the first innings and the previous best successful chase being 179 by the Delhi Capitals, one should the Men in Yellow were well in the driver’s seat after the first innings. But the exemplary form in which the openers- Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw are in, the duo made sure they made easy work of the target.

MS Dhoni and Co. who were expected to start their campaign on a winning note after their disastrous previous season once again failed to capitalize. Delhi Capitals on the other hand after making it to their maiden Indian Premier League finale in the last season looks to be on a mission once again and given the current form of the DC players it would not be a surprise if we see them once again in the grand finale.

Cricwizz, today brings you the list of the players who stood out and also the player who we feel let the CSK team down. Have a look at our picks and let us know if you agree with us.

Hero of the Match

Shikhar Dhawan DC IPL
Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals)

This was rather close between the Delhi openers- Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Both the openers got to a flying start stitching together 138 runs for the first wicket in just the first 13 overs. Prithvi Shaw finished his innings scoring 72 runs from 38 balls while his partner managed to score 85 runs from 54 balls. With Dhawan ensuring he stood a bit longer in the crease and was only dismissed with the capitals requiring 4 runs. Dhawan makes our cut for the Hero of the Match.

Zero of the Match

Faf du Plessis CSK IPL
Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings)

With the kind of season the CSK opener- Faf du Plessis had in the last season, where he managed to amass 449 runs in 13 innings at an average of 41 and strike-rate of 141. The expectations of the proteas batsman were quite immense. The 36-year old though fell victim to the inswinging delivery of Avesh Khan very early in the innings, getting for a very uncharacteristic duck. Yes, it is very early in the tournament to comment on the form of the South-African, and given his potential, he will be raring to bounce back in the upcoming games.

Game changer of the Match

Avesh Khan DC IPL
Avesh Khan (Delhi Capitals)

With many players showcasing incredible talent and giving some rip-roaring performances, it was indeed a difficult task to pick on the game-changer of the match. After a deep insight into the proceedings of the match, Cricwizz thinks the game of the changer in the encounter between CSK and DC was the 24-year old pacer Avesh Khan. In addition to picking up the crucial wicket of Faf du Plessis for a duck, he also managed to dismiss the CSK skipper MS Dhoni rather cheaply.

 We feel the 16th over by Khan was the game-changer, with the very first ball contributing to the run-out of in-form Suresh Raina followed by the wicket of MS Dhoni for a duck.

The 3rd match of the IPL 2021 is scheduled to take place between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. Do read our fantasy picks for the exciting encounter, also do stay tuned with Cricwizz for more intriguing analysis of the upcoming IPL encounters.