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The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) most consistent team Chennai Super Kings start their campaign against Delhi Daredevils on Thursday — and their latest recruit Irfan Pathan is itching to have a go. Aiming to resurrect his international career, the all-rounder said he wants to make the best of the opportunity of playing under the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side in the eighth edition of the IPL. [caption id=“attachment_2190947” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Chennai Super Kings celebrate a victory during IPL 7. BCCI[/caption] “Obviously, the dream is to play for the country again. But at the same time, I should make sure that I go there step-by-step and that is what I am doing,” Pathan said on Monday. The 30-year-old said that after a good stint in the Ranji Trophy, he is looking forward to performing well in the Twenty20 tournament. “I did well in Ranji Trophy. Hopefully, I can do well in the IPL as well. There are some matches coming up after the IPL season. Sooner or later, I will fulfil my dream (of playing for India again),” Pathan was quoted as saying by IPLT20.com. “In 2011, people talked that it was going to be difficult to make a comeback. But I told them that I will make a comeback and I did. I am saying it again that I am going to return to the national team and I am working towards it.” CSK is a team filled with some world-class all-rounders, including Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. The left-arm seamer is keen to make his own niche and contribute to the team. “It is just a matter of what Dhoni thinks in terms of how he is going to utlise me and how the team wants me to play. With the experience that I have, I can fit in any role. I just have to be ready mentally," he said. CSK will be Pathan’s fourth IPL team after Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, for him this is no case of an awkward beginning, of having to settle into a new team all over again. “I had played in different teams earlier. Compared to other teams, CSK has a pretty relaxed atmosphere,” Irfan said. The IPL starts on Wednesday when defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. CSK play their first match against the Delhi Daredevils at home on Thursday. Chennai Super Kings (from): MS Dhoni, Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, Ishwar Pandey, Matt Henry, Mithun Manhas, Mohit Sharma, Pawan Negi, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Samuel Badree, Suresh Raina, Ronit More, Michael Hussey, Rahul Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Ankush Bains, Eklavya Dwivedi, Andrew Tye Delhi Daredevils (from): Jean-Paul Duminy, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Quinton De Kock, Saurabh Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Imran Tahir, Jayant Yadav, Angelo Mathews, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Gurinder Sandhu, Shreyas Iyer, CM Gautam, Dominic Muthuswamy, Albie Morkel, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Kona Srikar Bharat, KK Jiyaz, Zaheer Khan You can follow live scores and updates in the live blog above. (IANS)
IPL 8 CSK vs DD as it happened: Morkel heroics not enough as Delhi fall short by two runs
Live scores and updates as CSK take on DD in IPL 8.
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Few talking points from this match: Delhi Daredevils’ spinners were brilliant — Tahir and Mishra were excellent in tandem, but their big batsmen need to fire in a chase like this. Yuvraj Singh was bought for just this kind of situation but completely failed to spark. So did Duminy.
For CSK, they will also hope for better batting next time. Also, it was interesting to see Ravindra Jadeja not get a bowl.
Out! Morkel takes a single when he should’ve pushed for two — Tahir then tries to hit a six but only finds Raina in the deep. Raina doesn’t drop too many. DD now need 14 from 3 balls.
Tahir c Raina b Bravo 2 (2b 0x4 0x6)
Run out! How easy is that? Mishra attempts a quick single off a wide but Dhoni sends a looped throw to Nehra who flicks the bails off to send the leg-spinner back to the pavilion. DD 129-8 in 18.4 — the chase looks impossible now.
Mishra run out 4 (4b 0x4 0x6)
Bowled him! Coulter-Nile attempts to sweep, misses and he’s gone. DD now need 28 from 14 deliveries.
Coulter-Nile b Ashwin 5 (4b 1×4 0x6)
OUT! Duminy has played on! Again it’s the surprising bounce that comes off the bottom edge of his bat and hits the stumps. Delhi now reeling under pressure. It’s 106-6 in 15.4 overs
Duminy b Pandey 5 (5b 0x4 0x6)
Yuvraj is gone! He’s been trying to pull since the last few deliveries he’s faced and this time Bravo’s too quick for him. He gets surprising bounce and Yuvraj is undone — miscues his pull and is caught at mid-on. Big blow! DD 99-5 in 14.3 overs.
Yuvraj c Pandey b Bravo 9 (6b 1×4 0x6)
OUT! Jadhav with an odd-looking poke — trying to bypass point — but he doesn’t get enough on it and he’s taken. DD 87-4 in 13.1 overs.
Jadhav c Jadeja b Ashwin 20 (20b 2×4 0x6)
OUT! What a catch from Du Plessis and an even better ’thinker’ celebration after collecting it. He’s running backwards, both hands stretched over his hands, takes the catch and rolls over in a reverse somersault. Wow.
Iyer c du Plessis b Nehra 7 (7b 1×4 0x6) DD 39-3 in 5 overs.
OUT! Agarwal goes! Teasing delivery from Nehra — it’s outside off and at a very juicy length but Agarwal just manages to edge it to Dhoni. DD 20-2 in 3 overs.
Agarwal c Dhoni b Nehra 15 (12b 2×4 1×6)
OUT! First blow for DD as Gautam hits one straight to Bravo at mid on. There was no need for that lofted shot — in the previous over, Agarwal showed signs of being the attacking batsman as he lofted a glorious six over the offside. DD are 15-1 in 2.3 overs.
Gautam c Bravo b Nehra 4 (5b 0x4 0x6)
And another one bites the dust! After Mishra’s fantastic previous over, which got a wicket for only three runs, Dominic Joseph forces Bravo to try and flick one off the pads. The batsman misses and the umpire raises the finger for LBW. Bit of skid there from the pitch which got the better of the West Indian.
Bravo lbw b Domnic Joseph 1 (3b 0x4 0x6). CSK are 120-6 in 17 overs
OUT! Excellent from Mishra — his google completely fools Jadeja, who had come down the track to hit one over the boundary. Instead, he misses, looks back and sees the keeper pluck the bails. CSK 117-5 in 15.2 overs.
Jadeja st Gautam b Mishra 17 (18b 1×4 1×6)