IPL 2018 Report Card: Harshal Patel's blitz for DD gives him perfect 10; CSK's Dwayne Bravo fails to make impact

In one of the impactful cameos of the season, Delhi Daredevils' Harshal Patel bludgeoned Chennai Super Kings with a blistering 26-run final over that might have ultimately separated the two teams at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday night. As though that wan't enough, he removed the well set Ambati Rayudu as Chennai Super Kings failed to find a hero in MS Dhoni and Dwyane Bravo.

Here, we present to you both team's report cards after Delhi's 34 run win over Chennai.

Harshal Patel - 10/10

Delhi Daredevils' Harshal Patel plays a shot against Chennai Super Kings. AFP

The all-rounder was at his marauding best and pushed Delhi to a good total courtesy a 26-run final over where he took the attack to Dwyane Bravo and smashed three sixes. The brutal 16-ball 36 from Patel undid most of the hardwork Chennai had done throughout the innings. To compound matters, he returned with the ball to sniff out the big fish, Rayudu.

Lungi Ngidi - 10/10

Returning to the CSK fold, Lungi Ngidi appeared as sharp as ever and broke the back of Delhi's innings with the wickets of their two most influential batsmen, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. The icing on the cake was the fact that he removed them in the space of four balls to derail Delhi Daredevils’ innings completely.

Ambati Rayudu - 10/10

The force behind Chennai Super Kings’ surge – Rayudu has been nothing short of phenomenal this season and smashed the Delhi Daredevils’ attack early on with a 28-ball half-century, which included four maximums and as many fours.

Ravindra Jadeja - 10/10

Although, he hasn't had much bowling to do this IPL, Jadeja has done a tidy job every time Dhoni has called upon him. On a slightly two-paced surface, Dhoni used Jadeja to silence the trio of youngsters in the Delhi top-order and the ploy worked like a charm. He contained the scoring rate, dismissed Glenn Maxwell and put pressure on Iyer and Pant which eventually resulted in Ngidi taking their wickets. Jadeja's exceptional night ended with him remaining unbeaten on an 18-ball 27 in a fruitless run chase.

Amit Mishra - 10/10

The leg-spinner has come into his own in the last few games for Delhi and continued his rich vein of form with another purposeful showing at the Kotla. He dismissed the dangerous Shane Watson and added the wicket of Sam Billings, a normally wonderful player of spin, to finish with 2/20 in his four-over spell.

Trent Boult - 9/10

Sometimes the biggest contribution in a T20 game can be a single match-turning moment. Trent Boult aces the report card more for his timely dismissal of MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings’ run chase than the economical four-over spell he sent down. He also removed Bravo to cap off a wonderful night for Delhi Daredevils.

Vijay Shankar - 9/10

Much has been made out of Vijay Shankar's inability to hit big shots on a consistent basis. But for all the criticism, Shankar hasn't been as pathetic as he has made out to be. His 28-ball 36 and sturdy presence at the crease gave Delhi the impetus for a par total.

Rishabh Pant - 8/10

Such has been Rishabh Pant's form this IPL that even edges were flying off to the stands. In an innings where he once again showcased his raw, brute power, Pant raced to the 30s with an onslaught on Harbhajan Singh. The off-spinner was hit for two fours and two sixes, but before he could really hurt CSK, Ngidi came to the rescue by taking his wicket.

Sandeep Lamichhane - 8/10

The leg-spinner has come late into the league, but is already making his presence felt with a handful of variations. That he befuddled a player of the stature of Suresh Raina shows that Lamichhane has a cool head on his 17-year old shoulders. His spell was more about mystery and a big haul could well be around the corner.

Shardul Thakur - 7/10

The Chennai Super Kings seamer hit his straps early on and had Delhi in a fix with his back of the length channel and nippy pace. He dropped a silly catch to let Prithvi Shaw off the hook but compensated with a decent one next over. Bowling-wise, Thakur was disciplined and stuck to his channels to choke the run flow.

Deepak Chahar - 6/10

As has been the case right through the IPL, Deepak Chahar swung the ball early on and stifled Delhi with his immaculate channels. He got rid of their aggressor, Prithvi Shaw, and sent down a three-over spell in the Powerplays that went for just 23 runs.

Suresh Raina - 4/10

Much akin to Shane Watson, Suresh Raina consumed quite a few balls and appeared to be set to launch an attack when the guile of Lamichhane accounted for him. Usually a pretty good player of spin, Raina misread the Nepal spinner’s googly and swatted the ball straight to the deep fielder.

Shreyas Iyer - 3/10

Unlike Shaw, Iyer, opening the innings, took his time to get accustomed to the track but failed to explode as Ngidi, returning to the CSK outfit, beat him for pace to make a mess of his stumps. Iyer had consumed 22 balls for his 19 and eventually couldn't make up as he departed to a poor stroke.

Prithvi Shaw - 3/10

All of 18-years-old, Prithvi Shaw packs quite a punch and has been pivotal to Delhi Daredevils’ resuscitation in the season at the top of the order. However, his shortcomings against the short ball are slowly starting to be documented and Chennai Super Kings, courtesy Deepak Chahar, exploited it by landing a short a length ball to invite an ugly hoick. He might want to end the season on a better note in Delhi's final match coming up next.

Shane Watson - 2/10

Unused with the ball, Watson proved to be a flop show at the Kotla with his partner Rayudu going berserk at one end. Watson tried to play the anchor role, something he clearly wasn't good at, and ended up making 14 before Mishra put him out of his misery after 23 balls.

MS Dhoni - 2/10

The MS Dhoni that mesmerised fans this season went missing as he looked confused and unsure in his 23-ball stay at the crease. With the run chase coming down to Dhoni vs Delhi Daredevils, Boult sent back the skipper with a low full toss that Dhoni hit straight to long-on fielder. Bizarrely, he never really tried to attack despite the creeping required run rate.

Glenn Maxwell - 1/10

The Australian's wretched IPL continued as he went for a shocking reverse sweep with Jadeja firing the ball into the stumps. Given the situation Delhi Daredevils were in at the time, it was a truly horrible stroke from Maxwell and one which puts him at rock bottom in the report card.

Abhishek Sharma - 1/10

After his whack-it-all debut innings against RCB, Abhishek Sharma was undone by a sharp bouncer from Thakur and ended up skying a catch to mid-on. The southpaw had a memorable debut the other night but with extra zip on the ball, couldn't quite manage to time the ball well enough.

Harbhajan Singh - 1/10

While a stunning bit of fielding oozed the belief that Harbhajan Singh was getting younger year after year, the off-spinner was shown the exit door with some jaw-dropping striking by Rishabh Pant. The southpaw took Harbhajan on for two fours and two sixes spread across two overs. The onslaught spoiled Harbhajan’s figures for the game and he wasn't used after that by Dhoni.

Dwayne Bravo - 1/10

On a night where he kept the Rishabh Pant quiet, Bravo found the going tough against the swishing blades of Harshal. The tailender slammed him for four sixes (three in the final over), all of them coming of different variations in Bravo's repertoire. The West Indian endured a nightmare at Feroz Shah Kotla and ended up with an economy of 13 after four overs. His night ended with a poor show with the bat as well.

Sam Billings - 1/10

The England batsman's sole contribution this season has been a match-winning show in one game but with failures mounting on him, Billings might struggle to keep his place ahead of Faf du Plessis. On Friday, the wicket-keeper batsman miscued Amit Mishra's delivery to short fine-leg off a sweep shot to leave Chennai in tatters. All he had to do was give Dhoni some company but Billings looked to play the glory shot and ended up gifting his wicket away.

Avesh Khan - 1/10

Avesh Khan had a good start to his campaign this season but was dropped for gifting too many freebies, a trend he continued to show on his return to the starting XI. The quick bowler coped some blows in a two over spell that leaked 28.

Rating chart: 10-9: Excellent, 8-7: Good, 6-5: Average, 4-3: Poor, 2-1: Very poor