Kolkata: Delhi Daredevils might not have a lot of international heavyweights in their team but they surely have a lot of heart courtesy their young stars, and their resounding victory over Gujarat Lions by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday speaks just that.
Bludgeoning innings by youngsters Sanju Samson (61) and Rishabh Pant (97) set it up for one of the most exciting chases in this IPL season. Gujarat Lions, batting first, rode on the back of skipper Suresh Raina’s 77, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik’s 65 and quickfire knocks by Aaron Finch (27) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) to end up at 208/7.
Kagiso Rabada was the most successful bowler for Delhi after he snared two wickets giving away just 28 runs in his four overs.
In response, young guns Sanju Samson and newly appointed skipper Karun Nair began the chase positively before the hard-hitting Rishabh Pant came out in the middle. The duo of Sanju- Pant raced to a partnership of 143 runs as the Delhi Daredevils chased down this huge total with 15 balls to spare. Both these batsmen tore apart the Gujarat bowling as all of Samson’s boundaries were sixes.
Rishabh Pant too cleared the fence for nine teams and also has six fours to his name. Ravindra Jadeja, Basil Thampi and Pradeep Sangwan each took a wicket apiece, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Delhi onslaught.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Lions 208/7 (Suresh Raina 77, Dinesh Karthik 65; Kagiso Rabada 2/28) lost to Delhi Daredevils 214/3 in 17.3 overs (Rishabh Pant 97, Sanju Samson 61; Ravindra Jadeja 1/28) by 7 wickets.