IPL 2016: Rahane keeps Pune in the playoff hunt with win at Delhi

Brief scores: DD 162/7 in 20 overs (Duminy 34(32), Karun 32(23), Bhatia 2/22) lost to RPS 166/3 in 19.1/20 overs (Rahane 63*(48), Khawaja 30(27), Tahir 2/26) by seven wickets

Niggles ruled out skipper Zaheer Khan, Quinton de Kock, Chris Morris, and Shahbaz Nadeem from the match, and Pawan Negi, Carlos Brathwaite, Jayant Yadav and Imran Tahir came into the side as their replacements. Rising Pune Supergiants have also been struggling with injuries, and they welcomed Australians Usman Khawaja, George Bailey in a bid to turn their fortunes around. After losing five games batting first this season, MS Dhoni opted to bowl first at the Kotla after winning the toss.

Batting first, the home side would have hoped for an 180+ at the Kotla, especially after the 186 they scored against KKR here on Saturday. However, they ended 18 runs short of the 180-run mark after none of the top-order batsmen managed to play a long innings. Three batsmen got out in the twenties, while two perished in the thirties as Delhi’s innings went through a ‘start and stop’ phase all through.

Ashok Dinda castled Rishabh Pant early, but Sanju Samson and Karun Nair formed a 35-run partnership before both fell in quick succession. Another restart was required, and it was given by Duminy and Billings. The duo formed a 45-run partnership and took the team to a healthy position before upping the ante. Billings and Duminy started slowly against Bhatia and Ashwin before the latter took control of the proceedings. If that was not enough,  Billings and Carlos Brathwaite added the six-quotient to the innings with attractive twenties. But the absence of a long innings from the top-order batsmen, cost the home side some 20-30 runs, which could have pushed them closer to the 200-run mark. They finally ended the innings at 162/7 after scoring 50 in the last five overs.

Another factor that stopped Delhi from posting 200 on the board was the bowling from the Pune side from overs 6 to 10. Just 21 runs came off the four overs with Rajat Bhatia and R Ashwin keeping a tight leash on Karun Nair and JP Duminy. The phase started with Sanju Samson departing just before the end of the powerplay, and ended with Karun Nair's wicket. The slow nature of the wicket helped the spin bowlers and with the ball stopping and coming, Bhatia also employed more slower ones. Murugan Ashwin's introduction in the 11th over helped Delhi in getting some much-needed runs before the end overs. Although R Ashwin went for runs later on, Bhatia shined for the MS Dhoni-led side by picking two wickets for 22 runs.

Rahane-Khawaja set the platform for Pune's chase

Rahane keeps Pune going

Although Khawaja fell before the half-way mark, Pune's innings did not suffer like Delhi. Saurabh Tiwary joined hands with Rahane after the Aussie opener’s wicket and took the team forward with a 45-run partnership. Tiwary, who scored a fifty in the last match, continued his good form and deposited Mishra in the stands in the 11th over to keep the scoring rate healthy. Although Imran Tahir removed the left-hander in the 14th over, Rahane proved to be the difference between the two teams by playing a long innings. The Mumbai cricketer made the most of his start and went past his fifth half-century of the season after Tiwary’s dismissal before combining with skipper Dhoni for yet another partnership. When Dhoni went for the big shots to finish the chase in a hurry, Rahane kept his calm and rotated the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking. A brilliant catch from Sam Billings near the boundary-line ended Dhoni’s innings for 27, but a couple of lusty blows from Thisara Perera took the Pune side over the line with five balls remaining in the innings.