DC End 15-Year Chennai Curse with Clinical Win Over CSK

Delhi Capitals (DC) continued their unbeaten streak in the TATA IPL 2025 with a commanding 25-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 17 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, snapping a long-standing hoodoo—their first victory in Chennai since 2010.

Batting first, DC made a tactical tweak by promoting KL Rahul to open with Jake Fraser-McGurk in the absence of Faf du Plessis. The move paid off as Rahul anchored the innings with a fluent 77 off 51 balls. Although Fraser-McGurk departed for a duck in the opening over, Abishek Porel came out swinging, smashing 19 off Mukesh Choudhary’s second over. His cameo (33 off 20) shifted early momentum towards Delhi.

Rahul and Axar Patel added stability, but the tournament’s Purple Cap holder Noor Ahmad dismissed Axar for 21, halting the partnership. Rahul, however, marched to a composed fifty and guided DC through the middle overs, supported briefly by Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi. Matheesha Pathirana bowled a brilliant death spell, conceding just 13 in his last two overs and removing Rahul in the final over. DC finished at a competitive 183/6, boosted by a sharp run-out from Jadeja and Dhoni that sent Ashutosh Sharma back.

In reply, CSK never got going. Rachin Ravindra fell early to Mukesh Kumar, and Mitchell Starc sent Ruturaj Gaikwad packing with a sharp bouncer. At 20/2, the pressure mounted. Vipraj Nigam then removed Devon Conway and later struck again to dismiss Shivam Dube, who had just launched a six, decisively swinging the momentum.

Kuldeep Yadav’s googly trapped Jadeja LBW, further denting CSK’s chase. Though Vijay Shankar (69*) and MS Dhoni (30*) added a steady partnership, the required rate soared beyond reach. CSK finished at 158/5, falling short by 25 runs.

With this win, Delhi Capitals not only remain unbeaten but also exorcised their long-standing Chennai demons, thanks to Rahul’s heroics and Nigam’s crucial strikes.