Chennai Super Kings stormed to the top of the IPL table with a 13-run win over Delhi Daredevils on Monday.

Batting first, the Super Kings stormed to 211 for four with opener Shane Watson hitting 78 from 40 balls while captain MS Dhoni cracked 51 not out from just 22 balls as the Chennai crossed the 200-run mark for the fourth time this season.

In reply, bottom-placed Daredevils made a valiant effort before finishing on 198-5 as they slumped to their sixth defeat of the season.

Watson on song

Chennai’s Aussie opener Shane Watson has been in fine form this season. He has hit a 42 and a century this season and on Monday turned up the heat with an attacking 78 that included seven sixes and four boundaries.

He teamed up with Faf du Plessis, adding 102 runs inside 11 overs, as the Super Kings batsmen went berserk on a Pune wicket that had a generous covering of grass.

Avesh holds his own

Delhi fast bowler Avesh Khan has been a revelation this season. Bowling over 90mph regularly, the burly quick has proven to be difficult to dispatch. While the rest of the bowlers struggled to contain the runs, Khan gave away just 28 runs from his four overs. He could have had the wicket of Dhoni but Colin Munro dropped him at mid-wicket in the 19th over.

Dhoni magic

Dhoni’s strike this season is close to 170.

Wicketkeeper batsman Dhoni has been batting with more freedom this season. His batting looks effortless and his 286 runs from eight games have come at a strike rate of nearly 170.

On Monday, Dhoni spared no bowler as he hit five sixes and two fours during his 22-ball stay. His innings, along with Ambati Rayudu’s 41 from 24, took the game well beyond Delhi’s grasp.

Asif and Ngidi shine

With a total of more than 200 to defend, Chennai unleashed their debutant pacers – South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi and Kerala quick KM Asif. Ngidi’s (1-26) first two overs went for just seven runs and Asif’s were even better.

Asif (2-43) took the scalps of openers Prithivi Shaw and Munro, beating both batsmen for pace. Chennai might have lost the services of the reliable Deepak Chahar but have gained a quality Indian quick in Asif.

Pant and Shankar put up a fight

Delhi batsman Rishabh Pant challenged the Chennai bowlers. Batting at number four, the left-handed batsman struck 79 from 45 deliveries. All-rounder Vijay Shankar fought until the end, hitting 54 not out from 31 but it wasn’t to be.

As the Daredevils’ season goes from bad to worse, the performances of youngsters like Pant, captain Shreyas Iyer and pacer Khan should give them some confidence going forward.

Pant is quickly establishing himself as the best wicketkeeping option among the next generation of Indian cricketers and should find himself in the mix as soon as Dhoni calls it a day.

Harbhajan does the job

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh might not be in the mix for national duty but he is doing just fine this IPL. His economy rate against Delhi was a respectable 6.5 from four overs to go with a season rate of 7.6. While the consensus is that finger spinners struggle in modern day limited-overs cricket, Harbhajan proved that there is space for quality cricketers to prosper.