Good evening. Welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of tonight's Indian Premier League Qualifier 2 between the Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals being played in Vizag. This is Ayan Acharya and I will be taking you through the three plus hours of pulsating action. SCORES × CSK vs DC: Ishant Sharma to bowl out. Dhoni on strike. He holes out trying to go for the glory shot. That's it. They've done, have the Chennai Super Kings. Dwayne Bravo with the winning hit and CSK will meet the Mumbai Indians in the finals on Sunday. CSK vs DC: Axar to bowl out. Rayudu dances down the track and hits Axar over extra cover for four. GONE! Raina has played on and CSK has lost a third wicket. Chennai needs 21 runs in 24 balls. Boult is back. MS Dhoni is in the house. Dhoni gets off the mark with a boundary. Follows it up with a brace next ball. Eight off the over. Chennai needs 13 runs in 18 balls. Keemo Paul back for his third. Rayudu helps one to the fence; trickles it fine towards the long leg fence. Chennai needs 8 runs in 15 balls. Make that four. Rayudu gets another boundary. Nine off it. CSK 144/3. CSK vs DC: Watson has holed out and it's Amit Mishra who has got the breakthrough. Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman. Good over from Mishra; just three coming off it. Chennai needs 37 runs in 42 balls. Axar back for his third over. Four coming off the over. Mishra to continue. He goes for four as well. CSK 119/2 after 15 overs. Chennai needs 29 runs in 30 balls. CSK vs DC: Axar Patel back into the attack. Du Plessis gets to his fifty with a single. Watson, at the other end, is hitting the strides, launches Axar over deep square leg for six. Nine off the over. Boult is back into the attack. Du Plessis has holed out in the deep. A brilliant innings comes to an end. Suresh Raina is the new man in. Chennai needs 67 runs in 58 balls. Raina off the mark straightaway. Just two runs and a wicket off it. Paul is back and is greeted by Watson with a maximum. He's having a terrible night with the ball. Watto follows it up with a cracking four. He is in the zone now, is Watson. He has dismissed a slower ball for six, and has finished the over with yet another maximum. Watson has also brought up his half-century. 25 runs off that over. CSK 108/1 after 12 overs. CSK vs DC: Amit Mishra has been introduced into the attack. Du Plessis ruins a fine over by sweeping Mishra for a boundary. Six off the over. Keemo Paul has been introduced into the attack. He concedes five wides! Rubbish delivery from Paul, strays on Watson's pads and goes for four. And another boundary to end the over... 16 off the over. Full marks to Colin Munro for the effort. Mishra to continue, and Watson gets a four to fine leg. DROPPED! Munro has misjudged a skier from Watson. Eight off the over. CSK 72/0 after 9 overs. CSK vs DC: Ishant to continue. Just three runs off the over. Delhi's not giving runs easy. The required run-rate is going up. Axar Patel has been introduced into the attack. Du Plessis has timed that one nicely and it will run away for four. He follows it up with an audacious lofted hit over long-off for six. 11 off the over. Chennai needs 121 runs in 90 balls. Ishant to continue and he has been dispatched for four by Du Plessis, and another one: gives himself room and carves it towards third-man for four more. Make that three in three. This one's raced away to the deep mid-wicket fence. 15 to end the Powerplay. CSK 42/0 after 6 overs. CSK vs DC: Oh Dear! Harakiri, nearly. Complete breakdown in communication between the two batsmen and the Delhi fielders have managed to not get either batsman out. All they needed to do was hit the stumps. They don't. Just one run coming off it. Ishant Sharma to share the new ball. Another tight over; just three coming off it. Boult to continue. Du Plessis dismisses a short ball to deep mid-wicket for his four of the match. Nine from it. CSK 13/0 after 3 overs. Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson to begin the run chase. Trent Boult to start with the new ball. ======================================= Delhi Capitals rode on Rishabh Pant's 38 to reach 147/9. Chennai Super Kings needs 148 to win and qualify for the finals. Deepak Chahar, Bhajji, Jaddu and Bravo took two wickets each. CSK vs DC: Ravindra Jadeja has dropped a catch off his own bowling and Boult rubs salt in the wound by dispatching him for a six next ball. And he's cleaned up next ball. Six runs, three balls and a wicket so far. Ishant Sharma, the new batsman, dances down the track and hits Jaddu for a boundary. Ishant wraps up the innings with a maximum. DC finishes on 147. CSK vs DC: Amit Mishra is the new batsman. Deepak Chahar back into the attack. Pant hares back for a second. And another brace. Pant is farming the strike, and rightly so. A single now brings Mishra on strike. Rishabh Pant is caught trying to raise the ante! Du Plessis has saved a certain six. What athleticism from the Protean. Mishra gets a cheeky four. 12 off the over. CSK vs DC: Bhajji to bowl out. STAND AND DELIVER! Rutherford launches him over extra cover for six. Much needed hit that; brings up the team 100. GONE! Bhajji gets his revenge, Rutherford departs. Nine off the over. Tahir to bowl out. Keemo Paul the new man in. Pant is playing a lone hand here, sweeps this one for four. Jeez, Chahar takes a catch but touches the ropes and it's a six! Dear oh dear; Dhoni is visibly upset. 14 off the over. Bravo back into the attack. What a delivery. Bravo takes out Paul with a brute yorker! Just three runs and a wicket. DC 119/7 after 18 overs. CSK vs DC: Bravo back into the attack. Just one run off the first three balls. The pressure gets to Patel who holes out at third-man. Sherfane Rutherford is the new batsman at the crease. Just two coming off the over. All eyes on Rishabh Pant. Tahir to continue. Four byes! CSK think Pant's struck in front. They review but replays show the ball going over the stumps. Four consecutive dots to end the over. Superb stuff from the Parasakthi Express. Bravo to continue. He concedes a free hit but no damage done. Just eight off the over. DC 93/5 after 15 overs. CSK vs DC: Leggie Imran Tahir has been introduced into the attack. Pant gets a boundary, his first of the match. A premeditated scoop that from the youngster. Nine off the over. Dwayne Bravo has been brought into the attack. SHOT! That's the shot of a player in form. Iyer drills this through the covers for four. Six off it in the end. Tahir to continue. He gets his man; Iyer departs and with this dismissal, Tahir inches closer to grabbing the purple cap. Axar Patel the new batsmen to the crease. Four singles and a wicket. DC 78/4 after 12 overs. CSK vs DC: Ravindra Jadeja introduced into the attack. Brilliant start; just three off it. Bhajji to continue. Munro times this one beautifully, carving it square of the wicket for four. He follows it up with a hit to sweeper cover for four more. 10 off the over. Jaddu to continue. GONE! Munro has perished trying to up the ante. Rishabh Pant the new batsman. Five off the over. DC 59/3 after 9 overs. CSK vs DC: Bhajji to bowl in the powerplay. Munro cuts and cuts fine for his second four. Seven off the over. Chahar to continue. A single to end the over. Four off it. Bhajji to continue. He gets Shikhar Dhawan out, caught behind. Brilliant from Bhajji! Shreyas Iyer is the new man in. Five runs and a wicket. DC 41/2 after 6 overs. CSK vs DC: Chahar starts off with a wide. Follows it up with three consecutive dots. Shaw gets off the mark with a single. Oh! Dhawan almost plays on, but scampers across for a single. SHOT! Shaw shows his class with a thunderous pull for four. Seven off the over. Shardul Thakur to share the new ball. Dhawan gives him the charge and misses! Gets it this time, drives it to long-off for four and follows it up with a glorious straight drive. Make that three consecutive fours. 13 off the over. Chahar to continue. CSK has appealed for a lbw. They have gone for the review and replays show the ball hitting the stumps. Shaw departs! Chahar gets the breakthrough. Colin Munro at No. 3. He makes his intentions clear, gets a four. Five off it. DC 25/1 after 3 overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw to open for Delhi, Deepak Chahar to start proceedings with the new ball. ======================================== TOSS UPDATE: MS Dhoni has won the toss and Chennai Super Kings will bowl. Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Colin Munro, Axar Patel, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir Iyer: "It (Pitch) looks a far better one that the previous game. We felt that during practice too. We would have batted first actually, so not a bad toss to lose. We're unchanged." Dhoni: "We'll bowl first. (If the toss is crucial) It depends on how the bowlers start. Some of the tosses are crucial but it depends on how the opposition bats. I don't mind that because all this increases the anticipation. Ultimately, you need to be aged to be experienced but again, there are pros and cons for everything." Ahead of the IPL2019, here's what Ricky Ponting had to say. Now his team is one win away from the final| Ricky Ponting: I’m here to win the IPL Pitch report: "It's a different surface from the one used in the Eliminator. This looks an even better surface as it's harder and hence, the ball should come onto the bat much better." says Michael Slater. Prithvi Shaw lauded team-mate Rishabh Pant, calling him the best finisher among youngsters after the wicketkeeper-batsman helped Delhi Capitals to a thrilling win in IPL Eliminator| Prithvi Shaw rates Rishabh Pant as a great finisher STAT ALERT| In IPL 2019, 104 bowlers have been used (including part timers) - 58 pacers and 46 spinners. The former accounted for 362 wickets @ 8.83 runs per over, while the latter claimed 252 wickets @ 7.58 r/o. The pacers claimed a wicket every 21 balls, while the spinners needed 22: Stats credit: Mohandas Menon Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had regretted his team's loss to Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier at Chepauk but remained hopeful of making it to the finals| Finishing in the top-two gives us a second chance, says Dhoni CSK has a better head-to-head record against DC but the latter has momentum by its side this season. While Kedar Jadhav's injury looked scary initially, the medical staff is optimistic over his availability for India's World Cup opener versus South Africa on June 5| Selectors to give Kedar Jadhav time to recover for World Cup Lowest batting S/r in #IPL2019 min 5 inns 63.16 - B Kumar #SRH (5 inns) 86.49 - C Morris #DC (6) 88.24 - K Paul #DC (5) 88.89 - Y Pathan #SRH (8) 93.55 - A Rayudu #CSK (15) 95.86 - K Jadhav #CSK (12)#IPL#CSKvDC#DCvCSK — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 10, 2019 Here is Shreedutta Chidananda with the preview: IPL 2019 Qualifier 2: Delhi faces Chennai hurdle on road to maiden final When the dust around Wednesday's gripping IPL Eliminator settles, it is the Rishabh Pant show that will live on in the memory.<doc-sep>Frenzied Delhi Capitals are fast learners: Sunil Gavaskar The fearlessness of youth has put Delhi Capitals on the cusp of a maiden IPL final appearance as they take on Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier on Friday night. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar says watching DC’s young batting brigade play without any inhibition has resulted in some ‘breathtaking performances’ but at the same time ‘forgettable blowouts’ “It’s been an exhilarating journey for the youthful Delhi team with some breathtaking performances and some forgettable blowouts,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Times of India on Friday. “Their young batting talent is a joy to watch as with the fearlessness of the young, they play shots that are hard to believe.” DC made it to the playoffs after finishing third in the league stage before beating former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator on Wednesday. Gavaskar believes that had DC adopted a measured approach, they would not have given away their position of strength on several occasions this season, few of them costing them a straightforward win. “It s also the restlessness of youth that then makes them indulge in a rush of blood shot that leads to their dismissal when a measured approach would have taken their team home without any tension,” he wrote. However, Gavaskar is of the opinion that the young side led by Shreyas Iyer is a quick learner which was on display against SRH. “That is what experience teaches and what the Delhi team has shown is that it is learning and learning fast. The manner in which Keemo Paul kept his nerve against Hyderabad to take Delhi to the second qualifier showed that the youngsters are understanding the situation rapidly,” he said. Drawing comparisons between DC and CSK, the batting legend wrote, “While Delhi have a frenzied look about them, Chennai, led by their uber cool captain, give a serene, unhurried impression on the field. Even while fielding, they seem to move almost casually and hardly show excitement at anything. The exception of course is when Imran Tahir gets a wicket. The manner in which he takes off into the deep cover position is delightful.” He also praised CSK captain MS Dhoni saying after Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar, he’s the only cricketer who can call each venue in India as his home ground. “The one time Chennai seem to come to life is when MSD is at the crease. Before he starts to unwind those arms, he has unwound his legs with some of the most frenetic running one can hope to see. After Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar, he is the one player for whom every venue is like home,” he said.<doc-sep>
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings Friday entered their eighth IPL final and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni credited the clinical effort of his bowing unit for setting up the platform for the comfortable win over Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 in Visakhapatnam. ((Full Scorecard)) Opting to bowl, CSK first restricted DC to 147 for nine and then chased down the target with six wickets in hand to set up a clash against Mumbai Indians in the IPL final in Hyderabad on Sunday. “The crucial part was to keep getting wickets. The credit needs to go to the bowlers. The captain only asks this is what I need. Then it’s up to them to figure out how to bowl, and they have to put in the hard yards,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “Thanks to the bowling department for where we are this season. I would have preferred it if the openers finished it off. Once they got the required rate below 6 an over, there was no reason to play big shots and get out. They did the hard yards,” he added. Dhoni also lauded the entire CSK team for producing a clinical performance when it mattered. ALSO READ: Shahid Afridi reveals why he chose Virat Kohli over Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni in his all-time World Cup XI “It’s the usual route, last year was the exception. The kind of response from the boys today was brilliant. The way we batted to get 140-plus runs was very nice,” he said. “The spinners got some turn, and we kept getting wickets at the right time.” DC captain Shreyas Iyer blamed his batting department for the loss. “We had a disappointing start, losing two wickets in the powerplay, and it was hard to recover from that. They have amazing spinners. But we’ve had a great season,” he said. “None of the batsmen took the initiative to take the team through and there wasn’t a partnership buidling. Disappointing for us but a good learning.” Iyer spoke about the pitch on offer this season at their home turf at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium. “It’s something to think about (the Delhi pitch). We didn’t win too many home games, but we can’t complain about pitches. We’ve been practising a lot on slow wickets. As professionals we can’t give excuses,” he said. ALSO READ: IPL 2019 Qualifier 2 Highlights: Chennai beat Delhi by 6 wickets, to face Mumbai in final “I think we’ve learned a lot, looking at seniors like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma leading their teams. It’s a proud moment for me, standing with them at the toss. They talk to me, share their experiences, and that’s great for me.” Shedding more light on his experience of leading the team, Iyer said: “I’ve heard Rohit and many of them talk about how difficult it is to be captain, and yeah, it’s not an easy job to do, but I’m happy to be the captain. Really proud of the boys. Loving the way we’ve gelled as a family. The coaches and support staff have been amazing. A lot more to come next season. We’ve found the base, now is the time to grow,” he said. The Man of the match Faf du Plessis, who hit a 39-ball 50 during the chase, said CSK’s experience of winning big games did the trick even though they didn’t have a very good outing in the last phase of the tournament this season. “We didn’t have the best run in the last five or six games, but we do have a lot of confidence as a team that’s won a lot of big games. We drew a lot of strength from that,” he said. “Our strength is to get partnerships going and extend that, even if we take our time initially. We’ve got a lot of good batsmen down the order, and we back them to catch up with the required rate.”