It was heartbreak for Delhi Daredevils (DD) when their game against Gujarat Lions (GL) concluded with a one-run defeat at Feroz Shah Kotla last week. Chris Morris’ blinder got them to a winning position from a seemingly impossible situation. Two more runs in that game and DD would have been table-toppers now instead of their opponents tonight, GL. MORE: IPL 2016, Match 31, Pick of the tweets: Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Daredevils at Rajkot
However, DD dished out a clinical display against table-toppers GL, thrashing them by eight wickets as they cruised to the No. 2 spot in the IPL 9 points table. DD openers, Rishabh Pant and Quinton de Kock, who added 115 runs for the first wicket, set up the chase. 18-year-old Pant, who was one of the heroes of India’s Under-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year, batted at a familiar position. Shreyas Iyer’s poor form prompted the team management to drop him and elevate Pant to the top. He repaid the faith by smashing 69 from 40 balls, while de Kock supported him by playing the second fiddle.
Toss has been important in this tournament and chasing teams have done well. It was no surprise when DD skipper Zaheer Khan invited GL to bat after winning the toss. Zaheer has joked before that he likes to go with the trend and this case was no different. The contest was always going to be between DD’s bowling and GL’s strong batting. DD had taken a bold decision to not play in-form men like Carlos Brathwaite and Imran Tahir. Zaheer led from the front and claimed the wicket of the very dangerous Brendon McCullum. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who was making a comeback, was trusted with the job of opening the bowling. He picked the key wickets of Dwayne Smith and Aaron Finch. The batsmen were to be blamed for reckless batting. GL were reduced to 35 for 3 after the six overs of Powerplay. ALSO READ: Delhi Daredevils beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs at Delhi, Stars and Flops
With the three foreign big-guns out cheaply, 180 was out of sight. Skipper Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja played important hands to ensure a target of 150.
When DD batted, it seemed like a different surface and powered by their openers and some lacklustre fielding from GL, the North Indian side sailed to a comfortable win. It was only the second ball of the 18th over, when a Sanju Samson maximum sealed it for DD.
Turning Point: With Raina being inconsistent, McCullum, Dwayne Smith and Aaron Finch have been GL’s best batsmen this season. When the three foreign men fell before the conclusion of the fourth over with just 24 on the board, GL were pushed back. They tried but could not recover and 149 was not going to be enough against the confident DD unit.
Brief Scores: Gujarat Lions 149 for 7 in 20 overs [Dinesh Karthik 53 (43), Ravindra Jadeja 36 (26)*; Shahbaz Nadeem 3-0-23-2, Zaheer Khan 4-0-27-1] lost to Delhi Daredevils 150 for 2 in 17.2 overs [Quinton de Kock 46 (45), Rishabh Pant 69 (40)] by eight wickets
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