The Delhi Daredevils defeated the Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs in a nail-biting encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. The last time these two teams clashed in the first leg of the tournament at Pune, the crowd was enthralled to a master class from Sanju Samson who scripted his way into record books by scoring the first century in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League.
While the Daredevils are out of contention for a place in the playoffs, the Supergiant are yet to secure their position and need a win from their last encounter against the Kings XI Punjab after what transpired last night.
Zaheer Khan, the skipper of the Delhi franchise, won the toss and elected to bat first on a dry Kotla surface on offer which he believed would assist the spinners later in the second half of the game. The home team were jolted early in the first innings as they lost their two inform players, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer early in the innings. A middle order resurgence from Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant ensured that the Daredevils post a decent total of 168.
Also read: 5 things that went wrong for Rising Pune Supergiant
In reply, the visitors started off poorly as they lost the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane of the first delivery and failed to recover from this early loss as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals to dent their chances in this run chase.
Take a look at the performance of the players in this exciting contest:
Delhi Daredevils
Sanju Samson – 1
The 22-year-old opening batsman failed to give his side a good start at the top of the order as he was run out for two in the first over of the innings, courtesy a brilliant direct hit from Ben Stokes.
Karun Nair – 8
The stylish batsman has struggled for form throughout the tournament but produced one of his best knocks in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League as he smashed 64 runs in his 45-ball stay. He was involved in a crucial 72-run stand for the third wicket with Rishabh Pant to set the foundation of a huge first innings total.
Opening the batting, Nair anchored the innings with a well compiled half century and ensured that the home team reached a par score of 168 runs in the first innings. The 25-year-old was guilty of dropping a simple catch of Manoj Tiwary on 40 in the 15th over of the run chase which didn’t matter in the end.
Shreyas Iyer – 3
The man of the match from the last game disappointed with the bat in this crucial encounter as he was dismissed for three runs, trying to cut an away going delivery from Jaydev Unadkat. Coming in to bat at number three, Iyer was undone by the extra bounce on offer and edged it to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. Iyer was brilliant in the field as he managed to save a Steve Smith six with a one-handed effort to save five runs for his side.
Rishabh Pant – 6
The left-hander is the most exciting youngster in the tenth edition of the tournament. The 19-year-old helped the Daredevils recover from early jitters with 36 runs from 22 deliveries including four boundaries and a couple of sixes. Pant will be disappointed as he could not convert this start into a bigger score for his side as he was caught at long on trying to clear the boundary rope.
Marlon Samuels – 5
The West Indian finally got going in the penultimate match of the tournament as he scored a quick fire 27 off 21 balls to give the Delhi outfit much-needed impetus in the middle overs. Samuels was particularly severe on Shardul Thakur as he smashed him for consecutive sixes in the 12th over of the innings.
Corey Anderson – 3
The all-rounder from New Zealand has failed to set the stage alight in this edition of the tournament and it was no different today as he was dismissed for three runs with the bat. The left-hander has endured a dismal season for the Daredevils and his form has been one of the main reasons for a poor display by the team in the tournament. Anderson returned to the field and picked up a good catch to dismiss the dangerous Ben Stokes at the long off boundary.
Pat Cummins – 6
The Australian was outstanding with the ball for the home team as he kept the scoring rate down with some quality bowling in the middle overs. The right arm fast bowler used the slower balls to good effect as he gave away just 31 runs in his quota of four overs with the wicket of Manoj Tiwary in the last ball of the innings
Amit Mishra – 5
The experienced leg-spinner was expensive in his three overs as he conceded 26 runs without any wicket. Delhi outfit needed some vital breakthroughs in the middle overs but Mishra failed to provide them with any wickets in the innings.
Shahbaz Nadeem – 6
The left arm spinner was making a comeback into the playing XI and made an immediate impact as he picked up the prized wicket of Steve Smith to jolt the visiting side in the middle overs. He returned with figures of one for 21 in his three overs.
Mohammed Shami – 6
Mohammed Shami has not been at his best in this year’s Indian Premier League as he has struggled for the right line and length throughout the tournament. He conceded 37 runs in his four overs and was poor in the field as well, giving away an easy boundary between his legs. However, he arguably produced the moment of the game when he surprise Dhoni with a direct hit.
Zaheer Khan – 7
The left arm medium pacer gave the Daredevils a perfect start with the ball as he picked the big wicket of Ajinkya Rahane in the first ball of the run chase. The early dismissal of the experienced Rahane gave the home team an early advantage in the second innings. The skipper followed it up with the wicket of in-form Rahul Tripathi to dent the visiting side in the power play. The veteran speedster was the pick of the bowlers with 25 runs in his quota of four overs.
Rising Pune Supergiant
Ajinkya Rahane – 0
The opening batsman has been out of form in the tenth edition of the competition and failed to deliver once again in the important chase as he was dismissed in the first ball of the innings by an incoming delivery from Zaheer Khan.
Rahul Tripathi – 2
Tripathi has been a revelation for the Supergiant this season but could not get going as he was caught behind by Rishabh Pant for seven after failing to cut a slower delivery from Zaheer Khan.
Steve Smith – 7
The skipper has been in tremendous form ever since he has landed in the country and he continues to impress one and all with his stroke play as he crafted his way to 38 runs in 32 balls stay at the wicket with four boundaries and one straight six of Nadeem. He will be disappointed at the timing of his dismissal as it proved to be the turning point of the match.
Manoj Tiwary – 9
The 31-year-old middle order batsman has been in sublime form with the bat and has produced some crucial knocks in the tournament. He came into bat at number four with his team reeling at 36 at the loss of openers and anchored the run chase with a magnificent 60 of 45 balls including five boundaries and three huge sixes. Although he could not take the visitors home, he produced one of his best knocks in the tournament.
Ben Stokes – 9
Ben Stokes has been handed the responsibility of bowling at the death and he was outstanding with the execution of his yorkers as he scalped the important wicket of Pat Cummins in the back end of the innings. He returned with figures of two for 31 in his four overs. He was brilliant in the field as he gave his side a crucial breakthrough in the field with a direct hit to dismiss the highest run scorer for the Daredevils, Sanju Samson, early in the innings.
The fifth ball of the last over produced one of the best catches of the tournament as Stokes plunged into the air and managed to hold on to a spectacular catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary to dismiss Mohammed Shami. The England all-rounder was aggressive with the bat in his 25 ball stay as he scored an explosive 33 runs including three fours and a couple of hits over the fence.
MS Dhoni – 6
Dhoni is regarded as the best wicket-keeper all around the world and his glove work has been exceptional throughout the competition. It needed something special to dismiss a dangerous Marlon Samuels and it was provided by the former skipper as he plucked out a brilliant one-handed catch in the last ball of the 14th over to break a vital stand of 34 runs for the fifth wicket. The finisher for the Pune team failed with the bat as he was run out for five runs in the run chase.
Dan Christian – 2
The Australian was off-colour with the ball in the couple of overs he bowled for the Pune franchise as he was taken apart for 19 runs. His batting too let him down as he was adjudged LBW for a run-a-ball three.
Washington Sundar – 4
The off-spinner was a touch expensive in the three overs he bowled as he was smashed for 35 runs and returned with a wicket of Corey Anderson in the middle overs. Sundar was also guilty of putting down a catch at short fine leg off Mohammed Shami in the last over of the innings.
Shardul Thakur – 3
The right-arm medium pacer was expensive with the ball as he was accounted for 35 runs in his three overs. Struggling to find the ideal length on a slow Delhi surface, Thakur was clobbered for a couple of sixes by Marlon Samuels in the 12th over to give the Delhi unit some much-needed momentum.
Jaydev Unadkat – 8
Jaydev Unadkat has been in sublime form with the ball in the tenth edition of the tournament. Going into the game after a match-winning performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the left-arm pacer started the match in a commanding fashion as he scalped the big wicket of Shreyas Iyer in the third over of the innings to dent the batting unit of the Delhi Daredevils. Although he was a bit expensive with the ball in the back end of the innings, Unadkat gave away just 29 runs in his four over and picked up a couple of wickets.
Adam Zampa – 7
The leg-spinner from Australia has been the pick of the bowlers for the Pune outfit as he returned with figures of one for 24 in his quota of four overs. Coming into the side in place of Imran Tahir, Zampa showed exemplary control over his line and length and picked up the big wicket of Rishabh Pant in the middle overs to halt the carnage.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
