Delhi Capitals made Chennai Super Kings pay dearly for their lapses in field and poor bowling, as the duel between the master and the apprentice turned out to be a damp squib with apprentice Rishabh Pant's DC thrashing master M.S. Dhoni's CSK by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
Young opening batsman Prithvi Shaw (72 off 38 balls) resumed from his exploits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year, and was supported brilliantly by Shikhar Dhawan (85 off 54 balls), as DC emerged on top over the three-time IPL champions.
In India TV's 'Cricket Dhamaka', the experts lauded DC's opening duo on its batting approach, and spoke significantly on Shaw's enormous improvement over the past few months.
"Prithvi Shaw wants to prove that he has a place in the Indian team. He could be the hero of the Indian team in the future. Dhawan seems to be proving that he still is in contention for a place in the Indian T20I team," former Indian player Maninder Singh said on 'Cricket Dhamaka'.
Former pacer Rudra Pratap Singh pointed out that Shaw's cover-drive past Rayudu in the innings was the moment which showed the supreme confidence with which the batsman is playing.
"His cover-drive past Ambati Rayudu showed that he is a batsman full of self-confidence. His foot movement was fantastic. He played with proper dominance and scored everywhere," RP Singh said.
"We have seen earlier that Shaw plays a lot in the air, but this was something different. He had a brilliant domestic season, so that experience of building the innings helped."
The Indian T20 World Cup-winning bowler further talked about Dhawan, saying that it is important for one of the top-three batsmen to stay till the end while chasing a big score.
"When you chase a big score, there needs to be a batsman who can stay till the end. He built the innings, relied more on sweep in this innings. He also took a number of catches, so it was an all-round contribution from him," said Singh.
"He looked like a batsman full of confidence, using his experience brilliantly."
Former India women's captain Anjum Chopra, meanwhile, talked about Suresh Raina's return for CSK after almost two years, saying that he looks to be rolling back the years.
"Raina looked like a player who is slowly returning to his best. He scored with the straight face of the bat, and once the batsman does that, it's a sign that he is in form," Chopra said.
"For CSK, it is a good thing going forward into the tournament. Also, they have Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu in the middle-order, so they are strong in those positions."
