Maiden Century from Samson helpde Daredevil beat Supergiants by 97 runs.
Delhi Daredevils produced an all-round show to thrash Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs and record their first win of Indian Premier League 2017 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday night. Sanju Samson's terrific maiden century102 runs from 62 balls helped DD to put up the target of 205 in fall of 4 wickets after being asked by stand-in Pune captain Ajinkya Rahane.
In reply, Pune's chase lost steam within the Powerplay overs when they lost three wickets for 50 runs and never recovered from that as Zaheer Khan (3/20) and Amit Mishra (3/11) ran through their batting line-up to bowl them out for 108 in 16.1 overs.
Here we look at the five talking points from Delhi's dominating performance:
Samson sets Pune on fire
There has been a lot of talk about Samson since his U-19 days. Despite his potential, he has flattered to deceive on certain occasions. But on Tuesday, he showed the world why he's such a highly rated talent. The signs were ominous from the very first four he scored off Deepak Chahar. A sweetly timed drive through point region. And he followed that with a similar shot for the same result off the next delivery. In fact, he clattered four boundaries off the first six deliveries he faced. All exquisitely timed shot. A sight for sore eyes. As he approached half-century, Samson went quiet. From taking 18 balls to score 34 runs, he took another 24 deliveries for the next 16 runs to reach his fifty. A six off Adam Zampa gave him the release and from thereon, he was unstoppable.
Ashok Dinda copped the maximum punishment as he pushed DD towards a massive total. Dinda returned to bowl the 18th over, Samson greeted him with a six over long-off. A powerful drive past the bowler fetched him two more. Dinda responded with a well-directed bouncer. Egged on by the miss, the bowler unleashed another short delivery but the Kerala batsman was ready - he made room to perfectly execute a hook shot over square leg. A four and a single off the final two deliveries took the total from the over to 19 runs and Samson to 96. A six off Zampa off the first ball of the next over took him past three figures - a first time for Samson in IPL and T20 cricket. He also became the 12th Indian to hit a century in IPL.
Samson was bowled right after reaching his century. Pune Supergiant bowlers would have felt relieved. Little did they know what Chris Morris had on his mind. He was in a destructive mood. He came to bat in the 19th over. DD were 166/4. Zampa had just bowled Samson off his second delivery. A 180-plus total was a real possibility. A 200-plus? A bit far-fetched. Not for Morris. The South African allrounder larruped Zampa for two fours, one six and a double in the penultimate over and then added another chapter in Ben Stokes' book of last-over disasters to wallop the Englishman for two fours and two sixes. 23 runs came from the final over and DD had gone past the 200-run mark. Morris remained unbeaten on 38 runs off just 9 balls.
While chasing big totals, a good start is imperative. Maintaining that start through the middle overs and then winding it up in the dying overs is how you expect such chases to end. But Pune Supergiant made a mess while chasing 206. Zaheer began the slide when he had his counterpart Ajinkya Rahane caught at mid-off in the third over. His opening partner Mayank Aggarwal too didn't last long, punching his ticket back to the dugout in Zaheer's next to be out for 20. Rahul Tripathi's maiden IPL innings lasted five deliveries and 10 runs before he top-edged a short ball from Morris to be out caught at fine-leg. The job fell on the shoulders of international stars - Faf du Plessis and Ben Stokes. They too, as it turned out, failed. Du Plessis, playing his first match of the season, attempted a paddle sweep off Shahbaz Nadeem but only produced a faint edge to be out caught behind. Stokes would have hoped to make up for his splurge while bowling. Pat Cummins thrashed his hopes when he induced an edge from Stokes to send him back to the dugout for 2. Pune had lost half of their side within eight overs.
Ashok Dinda copped the maximum punishment as he pushed DD towards a massive total. Dinda returned to bowl the 18th over, Samson greeted him with a six over long-off. A powerful drive past the bowler fetched him two more. Dinda responded with a well-directed bouncer. Egged on by the miss, the bowler unleashed another short delivery but the Kerala batsman was ready - he made room to perfectly execute a hook shot over square leg. A four and a single off the final two deliveries took the total from the over to 19 runs and Samson to 96. A six off Zampa off the first ball of the next over took him past three figures - a first time for Samson in IPL and T20 cricket. He also became the 12th Indian to hit a century in IPL.
Murderous Morris
Samson was bowled right after reaching his century. Pune Supergiant bowlers would have felt relieved. Little did they know what Chris Morris had on his mind. He was in a destructive mood. He came to bat in the 19th over. DD were 166/4. Zampa had just bowled Samson off his second delivery. A 180-plus total was a real possibility. A 200-plus? A bit far-fetched. Not for Morris. The South African allrounder larruped Zampa for two fours, one six and a double in the penultimate over and then added another chapter in Ben Stokes' book of last-over disasters to wallop the Englishman for two fours and two sixes. 23 runs came from the final over and DD had gone past the 200-run mark. Morris remained unbeaten on 38 runs off just 9 balls.
Pune's meek surrender
While chasing big totals, a good start is imperative. Maintaining that start through the middle overs and then winding it up in the dying overs is how you expect such chases to end. But Pune Supergiant made a mess while chasing 206. Zaheer began the slide when he had his counterpart Ajinkya Rahane caught at mid-off in the third over. His opening partner Mayank Aggarwal too didn't last long, punching his ticket back to the dugout in Zaheer's next to be out for 20. Rahul Tripathi's maiden IPL innings lasted five deliveries and 10 runs before he top-edged a short ball from Morris to be out caught at fine-leg. The job fell on the shoulders of international stars - Faf du Plessis and Ben Stokes. They too, as it turned out, failed. Du Plessis, playing his first match of the season, attempted a paddle sweep off Shahbaz Nadeem but only produced a faint edge to be out caught behind. Stokes would have hoped to make up for his splurge while bowling. Pat Cummins thrashed his hopes when he induced an edge from Stokes to send him back to the dugout for 2. Pune had lost half of their side within eight overs.
All-round Delhi record their biggest win
Delhi Daredevils lost both their matches last season against Rising Pune Supergiant. They on Tuesday stopped Pune from completing a hat-trick of wins in a one-sided encounter. They bossed over the home team in all the departments - be it batting, bowling or fielding. DD batsmen thrashed RPS bowlers all around the park to amass a massive 205 after being sent it. Then, the bowlers were equal to the task, led by captain Zaheer who began the slide with the removal of Pune openers within his first two overs in Powerplay. Steve Smith missed the game due to a bad stomach and Pune, in his absence crashed to a 97-run defeat. None of their batsmen crossed 20 runs. Zaheer and legspinner Amit Mishra picked up three wickets each. For the first time in IPL history, all 10 batsmen were out caught in an innings as Delhi bulldozed to their biggest victory (in terms of runs).
Mayank Agarwal's IPL struggles continues
In IPL 2016, when Mayank used to open for Daredevils, he managed appearances in just three matches and mustered 27 runs. This season, he has been signed by Pune Supergiant and in his first three matches his scores are 0,6 and 20 - a grand total of 26 runs. In other words, he has scored 53 runs from his last six IPL matches. Will Pune persist with him and give him another chance or will they follow Delhi's lead and drop him for the next game?
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