IPL 2017 | Samson and Morris hammer Pune into submission

04/11/2017

Sanju Samson’s brilliant century and Chris Morris’ nine-ball 38 took Delhi Daredevils to 205 paving the way for 97-run win over Rising Pune Supergiant in the ninth match of the IPL. A Steve Smith-less Pune were able to manage just 108, succumbing to their second straight defeat of the season.

Brief scores: Delhi Daredevils 205/4 (Sanju Samson 102, Chris Morris 38*; Imran Tahir 1/24, Deepak Chahar 1/35) beat Rising Pune Supergiant 108/10 (Mayank Agarwal 20, Rajat Bhatia 16; Zaheer khan 3/20, Amit Mishra 3/11) by 97 runs.

Winning the toss, Ajinkya Rahane, who was named captain on the day after Steve Smith was ruled out with a bad stomach, made the obvious choice of fielding first. Faf du Plessis, Smith’s replacement in the team, was joined by Adam Zampa and Rahul Tripathi after Manoj Tiwary had to withdraw from the squad following his father’s demise. For Delhi, Carlos Brathwaite made way for Corey Anderson after the former’s abject performance in the opening game against RCB.

Pune recover after quick Delhi start

Pune got off to a brilliant start despite the host of changes in their playing XI as Ashok Dinda gave away just two runs in his first over while Deepak Chahar sent Aditya Tare packing off his very first ball. But the incoming Sanju Samson came out swinging and hit Chahar for two identical boundaries in a row. With Delhi scoring 62 runs in the powerplay overs, Rahane, the stand-in skipper, brought in Imran Tahir to get the breakthrough that Pune desperately needed. Tahir repaid his skipper's faith by giving away just four runs in his first over and also accounted for Sam Billings in his next to bring Pune back into the game. In four overs, the hosts, thanks to Adam Zampa and Tahir, were able to consolidate their position in the match, restricting Delhi to 88/2 after 10 overs.

Samson and Morris take Delhi past 200

Having scored six runs in as many balls, Rishabh Pant decided it was time to up the tempo as he hit Zampa for a boundary straight over the bowler’s head and followed it up by hitting Rajat Bhatia for a couple of big ones in the next over. But with Tahir back into the attack, Samson and Pant slowed down again to risk their luck against the fast bowlers. Pant, however, was dismissed after a Mayank Agarwal's brilliant throw shattered the woodwork. At the end of 16 overs, Pune had managed to restrict Delhi to just 129 but then began the Sanju Samson show, which changed the equation of the game in Delhi’s favour. Standing at 67 off 50 balls, the 22-year-old started hitting the big shots with ease bringing up his maiden IPL century in just 63 balls. Even though he was dismissed on the very next ball, Chris Morris stepped in and scored an incredible nine-ball 38 to take Delhi past the 200-run mark - a first in this IPL season.

Captain Zak comes to the fore

Pune started their run chase by scoring 17 off the first two overs but when Zaheer introduced himself into the attack it proved to be the first of many nails in Pune’s coffin. Rahane tried to up the ante by hooking Zaheer but the ball took a top-edge ended up in the safe hands of Samson. In his next over, Mayank Agarwal followed suit in an identical manner only this time it was Morris with the catch. It didn’t get any better for Pune as they lost three wickets in the next three overs with Tripathi, du Plessis, and Stokes all falling cheaply. At the midway point of their innings, Pune had managed to drag themselves to 68/5, with MS Dhoni still at the crease.

Pune’s lower order collapses without a fight

However, Dhoni’s laboured effort came to an end when his famed helicopter shot found Karun Nair’s palms at midwicket. After that, it was just a matter of time before Delhi secured the win and short burst by Chahar, who hit Pat Cummins for two consecutive sixes, did little to soften the blow. Zaheer Khan brought himself back into the attack and put Chahar’s quick innings to an end. With just under 4 overs left, Delhi secured a 97-run win, condemning Pune to their second straight defeat of the season.