Kolkata: A good solid 96 by Shreyas Iyer and a quickfire 30 of just 15 balls from Karun Nair and a cameo by Amit Mishra helped the Delhi Daredevils outplay the Gujarat Lions by two wickets in the return leg match of the IPL 10 on Wednesday.
Batting first, at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium, home team Gujarat Lions rode on the back of responsible knocks by youngster Ishan Kishan (34), veteran Dinesh Karthik (40) and some quality power hitting by Aaron Finch (69) to reach to a huge 195/5 at the end of their 20 overs.
The Delhi batsmen had in mind, their wonderful 200 run chase against the same opposition some time back and if it was the Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant show that night, this time, it was another youngster named Shreyas Iyer who, assisted by the other batsmen stole the show with a brilliant 96 from just 57 balls.
If that wasn’t enough, then leg-spinner Amit Mishra came out in the last over and hit two boundaries to seal the win for Delhi. James Faulkner of the Gujarat Lions was the most successful bowler for the home team as he scalped two wickets giving away 39 runs in his four overs.
This win wouldn’t matter for the Delhi Daredevils if we think of the qualification chances as they are currently placed sixth in the table with 10 points from 12 games. Gujarat Lions too are out of the contentions for a knockout berth and this loss would definitely be demoralizing to them, considering the fact that despite having such a quality side, they have had an average season so far.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Lions 195/5 (Aaron Finch 69, Dinesh Karthik 40; Amit Mishra 1/27) lost to Delhi Daredevils 197/8 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 96, Karun Nair 30; James Faulkner 2/39) by 2 wickets.