IPL 10, Match 50, GL v DD Review: Shreyas Iyer's blinder stuns Gujarat Lions

The 50th match of the season saw Gujarat Lions hosting Delhi Daredevils at their newly designated home venue of Kanpur. It was an inconsequential match in the context of the league as both the sides were out of the contention for a playoff spot but still, a lot of pride was at stake for either team. The contest turned out to be a humdinger and went on until the last over. The Lions once again failed to defend a big score and this time, it was Shreyas Iyer who snatched the victory from their jaws.

The visitors won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first on a batting-friendly surface. The openers Ishan Kishan and Dwayne Smith began on a positive note and collected 21 runs from the first 3 overs. Off the first ball of the 4th over, Smith fell prey to a confusion in running between the wickets and was found short of the crease at the non-striker’s end while attempting a quick run and fell for 8 runs. Ishan was distraught by the incident and slammed a six and a four to Shami in the same over.

The skipper Suresh Raina who had joined at number 3, didn’t last long and was castled by Pat Cummins for just 6. The score reached 50/2 at the end of the powerplay. Ishan who was batting pretty well until that point but became too ambitious while trying to launch a googly from Amit Mishra and top edged to the short fine leg fielder. He scored 34 off 25 balls that included 5 fours and a six. There were two new men at the crease in the form of Dinesh Karthik and Aaron Finch.

The duo combined well together and went on the counter attack. Finch hammered Mishra for 2 consecutive sixes in the 9th over and Karthik too wasn’t too far behind. They played the perfect foil for each other and brought up the fifty partnership in the 13th that bailed the side out of trouble. All was going well for GL and they were headed for a huge score. Karthik went on the offensive in the 17th over and tried to hit Carlos Brathwaite over the fence but was caught brilliantly on the long-on boundary by Corey Anderson for 40 off 28 which included 4 fours and a six.

Very next ball, Finch got to his half-century in style with a six. He was joined by Ravindra Jadeja and they looked for quick runs at the death. Shami ended Finch’s stay at the crease as he hit the timber of the batsman to send him packing at 69 off 39 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. James Faulkner and Jadeja collected 12 runs off the last over that propelled the score of 196/5 at the end of 20 overs. Shami, Cummins, Mishra and Brathwaite bagged one wicket apiece.

In reply, DD were dented early when Sanju Samson was castled by Pradeep Sangwan in the second over as the batsman had to walk back after scoring just 10 runs. To make the matters worse, the in-form Rishabh Pant was run out for just 4 by a brilliant piece of thinking by Raina. The batsman was caught up in the appeal made against him and was wandering outside the crease and Raina seized the opportunity and found the batsman short of the crease.

Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair looked unperturbed by the losses and kept going after the bowling. They added 49 runs in the next 4 overs and took the score to 64/2 after 6 overs. Nair who looking in good touch after a long time, couldn’t capitalize on the good start and lost his wicket to Faulkner in the 7th over after scoring 30 off 15 balls. Iyer carried on his good form and smashed a few blistering boundaries. Marlon Samuels who had faced just 4 deliveries thus far, became a casualty of a genius work in the field by Jadeja. A direct hit from the backward point found the West Indian short and was dismissed for a solitary run.

Jadeja did it once again and this time, it was Corey Anderson who was found short of the crease to a direct hit. He made 6 off 6 balls and the DD side was then tottering at 104/5 from 11.4 overs. Brathwaite walked in at number 7 and struck a couple of boundaries but was caught and bowled by Dhawal Kulkarni for 11 off 10 balls in the 14th over. The pressure was mounting on the DD batsmen as 75 runs were needed off the last 6 overs with just 4 wickets in hand.

Iyer was still at the crease and was well past his fifty and was keeping the hopes alive for DD. He took Sangwan to the cleaners and along with Pat Cummins, collected 17 runs in the 15th over. He hit 3 consecutive fours in the next over off Kulkarni and in total, the bowler gave away 14 runs. The next over opened the floodgates as Faulkner was hit for 21 runs with 2 sixes and a four from Iyer and the equation was down to 23 off 18 balls. Thampi bowled a decent over and went for 8 runs. With 15 needed off 12 balls and Iyer approaching the three-figure mark, it was all the making of an intriguing contest.

Faulkner made a stunning comeback in the penultimate over and removed Cummins for 24 off 13 balls. He had given away just 2 runs off the first 4 balls but due to a misfield at short third man, unfortunately, the ball went to the boundary. With 9 needed off the last over, Basil Thampi had the ball in hand against Iyer. The batsman collected a couple from the first ball but found his woodwork disturbed off the second courtesy a brilliant in-swinging yorker. His magnificent knock ended at 96 off 57 balls that consisted of 15 fours and 2 sixes. With 7 required off the last 4 balls, Mishra hit two boundaries off two balls and took his side past the line. DD won the game by 2 wickets with 2 balls in hand and a thriller thoroughly entertained the Kanpur crowd.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat Lions: 195/5 in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 69, Dinesh Karthik 40; Mohammed Shami 1/36)

Delhi Daredevils: 197/8 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 96; James Faulkner 2/39, Dhawal Kulkarni 1/30)

Check out – Full scorecard here

Check out – Full points table here