Young Shreyas Iyer missed a magnificent century by four runs but that was enough for Delhi Daredevils to edge past Gujarat Lions by two wickets in an inconsequential Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Green Park Stadium here on Wednesday.

If Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson demolished the Gujarat Lions in their away encounter at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi last Thursday, it was Iyer, who almost single-handedly tamed the Lions in their own den with a 57-ball 96, his highest IPL score.

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Languishing at the bottom of the IPL standings and already out of contention for the play-offs, both the sides had nothing to lose in the contest. With the win, Delhi rose to sixth while Gujarat are at the penultimate spot in the eight-team table.

Chasing a mammoth 196, Delhi lost half their side for 105 runs before Iyer and Australian Pat Cummins’ cameo (24 of 13 balls) guided the visitors to the win. Gujarat on the other hand, were electric on the field with skipper Suresh Raina and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, accounting for three brilliant run-outs of the in-form Pant (4), Marlon Samuels (1) and Corey Anderson (6).

Delhi failed to get the momentum with the run-outs having lost opener Samson, bowled by left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan after scoring a 7-ball 10 before losing Pant immediately off an excellent throw at the stumps from Raina.

Karun Nair (30) and Iyer then stabilised the innings with a 57-run third wicket stand before the strategic time-out once again did the trick for the home side, in the form of Nair’s dismissal. Nair, after facing 15 balls and helping the ball to the boundary on five occasions and once over it, lofted a slower delivery from Australian James Faulkner only for Dwayne Smith to take a reverse-cupped catch at cover.

Jadeja then made his presence felt, effecting two quick run-outs, first of West Indian Samuels and then New Zealander Anderson to make things worse for the visitors. Tottering at 105/5, medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni added to Delhi’s frustration with the wicket of Carlos Bratwaite (11), who got a top edge for the bowler to take a simple catch at cover.

It was after Iyer and Cummins came together to milk 29 runs off 10 balls when Delhi could smell the victory. Iyer first dispatched Sangwan for two consecutive boundaries and then meted out the same treatment to Kulkarni.

Cummins too joined the party, using the long handle to good effect as the Australian raised a valuable 61-run stand for the seventh wicket with Iyer to take the visitors within sniffing distance of a win. Cummins, in his attempt to get to the target quickly, lofted Faulkner to long-on only for Smith to take a comfortable catch. The Australian’s 13-ball knock was laced with two boundaries and a massive six off the same bowler.

With 14 needed off seven deliveries, tailender Mohammed Shami (4 not out) managed to push one to the boundary to reduce the margin before Basil Thampi in his second delivery of the final over, got one in the blockhole to blow Iyer’s middle stump. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra (8 not out) then whacked two consecutive fours to seal the deal in favour of Delhi.

Earlier, Australian Aaron Finch’s flashy 39-ball 69, laced with six fours and four sixes helped Gujarat Lions recover from the early jolts and post a mammoth 195/5. Finch’s 92-run fourth wicket stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (40) helped the Lions recover after losing the early wickets of opener Smith (8), Raina (6) and Ishan Kishan (34).

Put in to bat, Gujarat found themselves reeling at 56/3 before Karthik and Finch began the recovery sensibly, taking the odd singles and helping the bad balls to the boundary as the run rate dropped a bit midway into the innings.

Delhi found it tough to break the partnership with both the right-handers stepping up the gas to race to 148/3 by the 16th over, before West Indian Brathwaite managed to pack the Tamil Nadu-born stumper, who had faced 28 balls by then and struck four fours and a six.

Thereafter, Finch, who by now had reached his 50 off 32 balls, struck a few blows to add 32 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (13 not out) before Shami’s full delivery blew the Australian’s middle stump.

Towards the end, Faulkner (14 not out) and Jadeja added 15 runs as the home side milked 61 runs off the final five overs.

IANS

Putting up a horrendous show with both the bat and ball, Delhi Daredevils posted their lowest total of 66 all out in 13.4 overs as they lost to the Mumbai Indians by 146 runs — biggest defeat in terms of runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – here on Saturday.

Facing one of their remaining must-win matches after having eight points from 10 games, Delhi allowed Lendl Simmons and Kieran Pollard to hit blistering half-centuries as Mumbai posted a huge total of 212/3 in 20 overs at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.

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The home side’s batting was even more horrific than their bowling as they were bowled out for 66 — one run short of matching their lowest total of 67, posted earlier this edition against Kings XI Punjab on April 30. It was the third lowest total in the history of IPL — the infamy belonging to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders last month.

Even though the target was huge, no one expected Delhi to surrender meekly, especially after the way they chased down 209-run target set by Gujarat Lions in their previous match here. But Delhi lost five batsmen in the Powerplay overs (six) with only 35 on the board. Pacer Mitchell McClanaghan delivered in the ball of the innings, removing Sanju Samson, who was caught by Simmons at deep square leg.

In the next over, Shreyas Iyer top-edged a short ball from Lasith Malinga and was caught by Harbhajan Singh at midwicket, reducing Delhi to 6/2 in 1.5 overs. Next to go was Rishabh Pant (0), who pulled pacer Jasprit Bumrah straight into the hands of Simmons at deep midwicket. Delhi vice-captain Karun Nair (21 off 15) too soon perished, offering a catch to Rohit at short midwicket off a delivery from off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, as the hosts reeled at 31/4 in 4.4 overs. Malinga struck again, getting rid of Corey Anderson (10) as the left-handed batsman offered an easy catch to Karn Sharma at dep midwicket.

Leg-spinner Sharma too revelled in Mumbai’s party, bagging the wickets of Marlon Samuels (1) and Kagison Rabada (0). Eventually, Delhi folded up for 66 and now have a slim chance of qualifying for the play-offs.

Earlier, Simmons, playing his first match of the campaign, starred from the start with a knock of 66 off 43 deliveries, featuring five fours and four sixes, while Pollard scored a belligerent 63 not out off 35 balls, milking four sixes. Asked to bat, Simmons and Parthiv Patel (25) gave the visitors a flying start, putting up 79 runs for the first wicket in 8.4 overs. At the end of the Powerplay overs (6), Mumbai were handsomely placed at 60/1.

West Indian Simmons, who replaced Jos Buttler in the team, was particularly impressive, using the long handle to good effect. He wasn’t afraid of going on the backfoot to hit towards the cover and was equally at ease against the short deliveries aimed at him by Delhi pacers Zaheer Khan, Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins.

Parthiv (25 off 22) played a perfect foil to Simmons till leg-spinner Amit Mishra ended his innings when the left-hander stepped out and missed a googly, only to be stumped by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.

Simmons then completed his fifty off 38 deliveries, as he and Pollard took Mumbai innings forward. Pollard made his intention clear from the outset, hitting Mishra for two sixes in the 11th over. Simmons gave further proof of his power-hitting by hitting Cummins and Corey Anderson for two sixes, before being caught by Marlon Samuels off, with Mumbai at 116/2 in 12.3 overs. Pollard, however, continued to assault the bowlers, despatching two more deliveries from Mishra over long on in the next over.

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (10)’s wicket, however, gave some relief to the hosts. The right-hander unsuccessfully pulled Rabada and the ball landed in the hands of Mishra at short fine-leg, as Mumbai lost their third wicket for 153 runs in 15.3 overs.

Meanwhile Pollard completed his fifty in 29 balls with a powerful straight drive off Cummins. He later got good support from Hardik Pandya (29 not out off 14) as they helped Mumbai register a mighty total — which they easily defended.

IANS

Delhi Daredevils kept their chances of qualifying for the Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs alive after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

On paper, it was a mismatch between Daredevils and Sunrisers but the hosts put on a collective batting effort to register a win with five balls to spare.

With their third win in the tournament, Delhi moved up to the sixth spot with six points while Hyderabad are still at the third spot with 13 points after their fourth away loss in the tournament.

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All-rounders Corey Anderson’s quick-fire 24-ball unbeaten 41 and Chris Morris’ 7-ball 15 helped Delhi raise an unbeaten 41-run fifth wicket stand to register the much-needed win.

Chasing a mammoth 186, Delhi were off to a decent start with Sanju Samson (24 off 19 balls) and skipper Karun Nair (39 off 20) putting on 40 runs before medium pacer Mohammed Siraj packed back Samson.

Samson, who had faced 19 balls by now and struck two boundaries and a six off Siraj’s first delivery of the match, was undone by a slower one in the bowler’s second over which Shikhar Dhawan latched on comfortably at cover point.

Nair looked in good touch during his brief stay, which saw the ball crossing the boundary on five occasions besides twice over it.

The right-hander could add 32 runs for the second wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant (34 off 20) before the first strategic time-out once again saw the dismissal of a batsman, this time in the form of Nair.

Medium pacer Siddharth Kaul, who was clobbered for a six and a four in his very first over by Nair, got his knuckleball to send the right-hander back caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at long-off.

With both the openers back in the dug out, the onus was on Pant and new man Shreyas Iyer (33 off 25) but Siraj, after getting clobbered for a six in the previous ball got a toe crusher to cannon into the southpaw’s stumps. The right-handed duo batted well to put 37 runs for the third wicket before being separated by Siraj.

Pant’s dismissal brought together all-rounder Corey Anderson and Iyer, who was at his destructive best, clobbering two consecutive sixes off Yuvraj Singh, before Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar packed Iyer back with a slower bouncer.

Anderson then took on the responsibility and with new man Morris, wasted no time in using the long handle. With 24 needed off the last three overs, Anderson clobbered Bhuvneshwar for a six and a four off back to back balls before Morris sent Kaul outside the park to take Delhi within sniffing distance of the win.

Earlier, Yuvraj Singh (70 not out from 41 balls) made the most of the life he got on 29 when he was dropped bySamson at deep square, to propel Sunrisers to 185/3 after being sent to bat.

The Punjab batsman, who initially struggled to put bat to ball opened up with two glorious straight drives before bringing up his fifty in 34 balls, and help the visitors accumulate 71 runs in the last five overs.

The left-hander made the most of South African Kagiso Rabada’s poor line and length, clobbering him for a four and six off consecutive balls in the 18th over.

All-rounder Moises Henriques (25 not out) played the perfect second fiddle to Yuvraj as the left-right combo added an unbeaten stand of 93 runs for the fourth wicket from 51 deliveries.

Skipper David Warner (30 from 21) and Dhawan (28 from 17) gave the visitors a flying start, putting on 53 runs before pacer Mohammed Shami in his very second delivery cleaned up the Aussie, who struck four boundaries and a six over backward point.

New Zealander Kane Williamson (24 from 24) along with Dhawan added 22 runs before the first strategic time-out did the trick for Delhi, in the form of the southpaw’s wicket.

IANS

Delhi Daredevils rode on an all-round effort to register their second successive win, beating Kings XI Punjab by 51 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Chasing a mammoth 189, Punjab could never recover from the three early jolts for just 31 runs and were restricted to 137/9.

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem rocked the visitors with two early wickets — Manan Vohra (3) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (7) — before South African all-rounder Chris Morris dealt another blow with the wicket of opener Hashim Amla (19) inside the first five overs.

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Amla looked good during his brief 12-ball stay, slamming four boundaries before a flick off a slower full toss from his countryman Morris landed on Sam Billings’ hands at deep square leg.

Saha, however got out to a stunning low catch by Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan at extra-cover after facing five balls and sending the ball to the boundary once.

With the team struggling at 31/3, David Miller (24) and Eoin Morgan (22) put on 33 runs for the fourth wicket to take the visitors past the 50-run mark. Morgan and Miller batted cautiously, striking the occasional boundaries to take the Punjab side to 64 before Australian pacer Pat Cummins packed back the South African after facing 20 balls and hitting three fours.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra then jolted Punjab with the key wicket of skipper Glenn Maxwell for a duck in the very next over.

Mishra couldn’t have asked for a better occasion to claim his 50th wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla as Punjab were found tottering at 65/5 midway through their innings.

Miller then survived a low catch by Zaheer off Corey Anderson but failed to capitalise and got out to the same bowler trapped in front off a full toss after facing 28 balls and hitting a four.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, 44 from 29 balls raised Punjab’s hopes for a little by lofting the likes of Mishra, Anderson and Zaheer for three sixes but it was too late for the visitors as the asking rate kept on mounting.

For Delhi, Morris was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/23 while Nadeem and Cummins took two wickets apiece. Mishra and Anderson chipped in with one wicket each.

Earlier, Daredevils rode on opener Sam Billings’ half century and a breezy unbeaten 39 from New Zealand’s Corey Anderson to post 188/6 after winning the toss and electing to bat. Anderson’s electrifying knock came from just 22 deliveries and included three fours and as many sixes after Billings set the platform with a 40-ball 55.

Delhi were off to a flier with the opening duo of Billings and last match’s centurion Sanju Samson (19) putting on 53 runs.

Both mostly dealt in boundaries as the Punjab bowlers erred in line and length in the early part of the innings.

Young Samson started the onslaught from the first over when he flicked medium pacer Sandeep Sharma for four down the legs before adding another to bring up eight runs. Billings on the other hand, started with a pull over mid-on off Mohit Sharma before meting out special treatment to pacer Varun Aaron, slamming three consecutive boundaries in his first over.

Playing his first match of the season, Shreyas Iyer (22) raised 41 runs with Billings for the third wicket.

South African all-rounder Morris struck an 8-ball 16 to help Delhi cross the 150-run mark before Sandeep induced him to pull a short ball only to find Mohit’s safe hands at the square leg boundary.

Anderson then added the late surge, sending Patel to the cleaners for two consecutive sixes as the 19th over yielded 16 runs before pacer Pat Cummins (12 not out) joined the party in the final over, fetching 19 runs. Despite taking two wickets, Aaron was quite wayward in his line and length, leaking four wides and a no ball in his four overs which cost 45 runs.

IANS