In a nutshell
Delhi Daredevils turned in one of their best performances ever in IPL. They put up a big score of 205 runs batting first, thanks to a century by Sanju Samson and a terrific late cameo by Chris Morris. The Rising Pune Supergiant never really found their footing during the chase and got skittled out for 108 runs, handing a 97 run victory to Delhi Daredevils.
How it unfolded
Ajinkhya Rahane subbed in as captain for Pune after Steve Smith was forced to sit out the match owing to an upset stomach. Rahane’s luck worked for winning the toss at least, but not much beyond that. Having elected to field first, the Supergiant turned to Dinda to open the bowling – who, surprise, surprise – actually turned in a decent first over conceding just two runs. Aditya Tare got out in the very next over, and that was probably the high point for Pune in this match. Sanju Samson came in after that, and he immediately got down to task. He shared 69 runs partnership with Sam Billings for the second wicket, and 53 runs partnership with Rishabh Pant for the third wicket. Samson brought up his century in the 19th over by hitting Adam Zampa for a six, but got out the next ball. By this time the Daredevils had already put up 166 runs on the board, but what came next neither team would have imagined. Chris Morris, in one of the best displays of death over batting, plundered Zampa and Stokes for 38 runs in just nine balls. Only on two of the balls he faced, he did not hit a four or six. Morris’s hitting took Delhi to a formidable total of 205 runs.
Pune had chased down a target of 183 runs on the same ground against Mumbai Indians, so chasing down 205 was still a distinct possibility. However, they were without Steve Smith this time. Rahane opened with Mayank Agarwal this time, but both the openers were back in pavillion by the end of fifth over. The Delhi bowlers never allowed Pune to build any substantial partnership, and by the time Dhoni was out in the 12th over, the game was as good as over. The Pune batsmen tried in desperation everything to kick-start the chase, but all of them ended up getting caught. None of their batsmen scored more than 20 runs, and eventually they folded for 108 runs in the 17th innings.
Where the game was won
Sanju Samson’s fine century laid the foundation for a big total for Delhi Daredevils, but Chris Morris’s death over cameo simply took the wind out of Pune’s sails. A total in the range of 180 might still have been chased down by Pune, as they showed against Mumbai Indians in their first match. But Morris’s innings shifted the momentum completely towards Delhi Daredevils.
The Delhi Daredevils bowlers did a splendid job of not allowing Pune to build any partnership, and keeping their run rate in control. Their fielders also made sure of taking up all of the offers presented to them by the Pune batsmen, and not dropping a single catch.
What this means for the tournament
Even though Pune and Delhi are both tied at 2 points (together with three other teams), with a victory of this magnitude Delhi now find themselves at the top of this pack, while Pune at the bottom. In a tournament like IPL, it is important for a losing team to realize when they are out of game, and therefore try to minimize the margin of defeat rather than folding up meekly like Pune did. They got all out with 23 ball remaining. If Pune had extended their innings to play the full 20 overs at the same strike rate, they would have saved 1.28 in Net Run Rate (NRR) score. Inevitably, the last one or two finalists for the knock-out round of IPL will be decided based on NRR, and there is a good chance that their tactless batting in the second innings will hurt Pune eventually.
Takeaways
For Delhi Daredevils, this is the kind of performance that they had always hoped for, but never turned in in the past 3 seasons. Is this the season in which they finally get their act together? Too early to say, but the team has the all-round talent that can turn them into champions. Pune will once again rue their ineffective bowling attack. Apart from Tahir, none of the bowlers have bowled consistently in the first three matches. Why they still play a bowler like Dinda is anybody’s guess. Their death bowling also remains a matter of concern. Unless Pune are able to figure out their bowling problems, they are likely to keep struggling in this tournament.