IPL 10, Match 50, GL v DD – 5 Game Changing Moments

The 50th match of the IPL witnessed a dead rubber in the context of the tournament with both sides out of the contention for the IPL. Gujarat Lions hosted the Delhi Daredevils side coming out off a painful loss. But no one would have guessed the match would turn out to be such a cliffhanging thriller.

It seems that Gujarat Lions can defend even a total of above 220+ as they struggled to restrict the Delhi side within the target set by them. Zaheer Khan won the toss and elected to field first. Thanks to some brilliance from Aaron Finch and batsmen lower down the order, Gujarat Lions posted a daunting total of 196.

Daredevils pulled off an unbelievable win out of nowhere due to magnificent knocks from Iyer and Cummins under pressure. With 75 needed off last 6 overs, Delhi Daredevils won the match by a couple of wickets and a couple of balls to spare. Let us look at some of the game-changing moments of the match.

1. Early advantage for Delhi Bowlers

Delhi Daredevils put the Lions in their cage after picking up the in-form players of the home side, i.e., Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina cheaply. Even though Gujarat Lions managed to score fifty in the powerplay, Daredevils took out a large chunk of Lions batting by taking out experienced Raina and an effervescent Smith. Zaheer Khan yet again proved to be economical in the powerplay overs, as he conceded only 20 runs in his three overs.

2.Game-changing partnership between Karthik and Finch

Even though Gujarat lost three quick wickets, the partnership of Dinesh Karthik and Aaron Finch did not allow it to effect on the run-rate of the innings. The duo added 92 in only 58 balls to push the visiting team out of the driver’s seat. Dinesh Karthik scored a brisk 28-ball 40. He scored four boundaries and a maximum. Finch looked at his destructive best as he smashed 69 at a strike rate of 177, hitting 4 maximums and six fours.

3. Lions gain momentum at death

Due to some late onslaught by Gujarat batsmen, the home team set the Daredevils a hefty target of 196. In the last eight overs, Lions lost only a couple of wickets and scored as many as 92 runs, taking the Daredevils bowlers to the to all part of the ground. Faulkner and Jadeja delivered the finishing touch as they scored their respective cameos of 14 and 13 in no time.

4. DD running themselves out

After losing the crucial wickets of Sanju Samson, much was expected out of Rishabh Pant to help Delhi chase down the daunting total of 196. Pant lost his wicket in a freak dismissal as he was slow in getting down his bat on time. Raina was quick to figure out the carelessness of the batsman and restricted the batsman to repeat his heroics with the bat at Ferozshah Kotla. Ravindra Jadeja fielded brilliantly at point as he affected two direct hits to dismiss Corey Anderson and Marlon Samuels.

5. Match-winning partnership between Iyer and Cummins

Shreyas Iyer at one point of time was the lone man standing in the Daredevils chase. With his side cruising at 72-2 at the eighth over, Delhi Daredevils were reduced to 121-6 at the end of 14 overs. With 75 needed off the last six overs, Shreyas Iyer and Pat Cummins took it upon themselves to chase it down. Iyer was unlucky to miss out of an exceptional match-winning ton. Cummins scored an auspicious 13-ball 24, which consisted of 2 fours and a six under pressure.

Shreyas Iyer almost saw it through for his side as he scored one of the most brilliant innings of the tournament with his 96 off 57 balls, scoring a whopping 15 boundaries and two maximums. Shami and Mishra finished it off for Iyer as they scored three boundaries to seal the match for their side.