IPL 10, Match 9, RPS v DD Review: Sanju Samson special gives DD their maiden win

Delhi Daredevils (DD) made light work of Rising Pune Supergiant in the 9th encounter of Vivo IPL 10 as the underachievers of the tournament brushed Pune by 97 runs to register their biggest victory in their IPL history by a margin of 97 runs. The hosts were thoroughly outplayed in each and every department of the game and it will be a night to remember for the Delhi outfit.

Earlier in the day, it was the magnificent century from Kerala lad Sanju Samson which propelled Delhi to a score of over 200. It was a scintillating display of batsmanship by the youngster and in the end Chris Morris played a quickfire blinder to ensure Delhi posted a huge total on the board. Pune was missing out on the services of their regular captain Steve Smith and it showed in the outcome of the match.

Stand in captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bowl. He mentioned that Smith was missing out due to a stomach bug. Delhi was pegged back pretty early in the innings with the loss of Aditya Tare in the first delivery of the 2nd over. It was pacer Deepak Chahar who provided the hosts with the initial breakthrough.

Sanju Samson began in a brisk fashion smashing 4 boundaries in his first 8 deliveries. He looked in complete control of proceedings and looked in sublime touch. His partner on the other end, Sam Billings was also going great guns and smashed a hat-trick of boundaries in the 6th over of Chahar. It was again the wily fox Imran Tahir who got a wicket in his very first over as he bamboozled Billings with a slider. He misread the length and ball went on to disturb the timbers.

Despite the fall of wicket Samson was going hammers and tongs on the other end and didn’t look bothered. It was teenage sensation Rishabh Pant who came out in the middle to join Samson and the southpaw smashed a couple of sixes of Rajat Bhatia in the 12th over. It was as if he was continuing his innings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore the other day.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa was also at the receiving end of a Samson special as the youngster deposited him over the midwicket boundary for a huge six in the final delivery of the 15th over. Pant was brilliantly run out by Mayank Agarwal but there was no stopping Samson on the other end. After smashing a six of Imran Tahir in the 17th over, Samson followed it up with a couple more in the very next over of Ashoke Dinda.

Samson was dismissed by Zampa immediately after he completed his maiden T20 century. But it wasn’t the end of Delhi’s party yet. Chris Morris played a blinder of an innings in the final two overs of the innings as the big-hitting all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 38 of a mere 9 deliveries. His innings contained 3 fours and 4 sixes.

The target of 206 was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack for Pune and it turned out just in the same way. Pune began briskly scoring 17 runs in the first 2 overs but captain and opener Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed in the 3rd over to peg the hosts back. It was the old horse Zaheer Khan who provided the visitors with the initial breakthrough.

Agarwal was also dismissed in the final delivery of the 5th over as Zaheer added another to his kitty in quick succession. It was not the same old menacing Zaheer but it was still effective, to say the least. Rahul Tripathi smashed a couple of boundaries in the 6th over but soon gave away his wicket in the final delivery of the same over.

Comeback man Faf du Plessis couldn’t get going either as the Proteas Test captain was dismissed cheaply by left-arm tweaker Shahbaz Nadeem. There was no way back for Pune as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and was reduced to 55/5 in the 9th over. Rajat Bhatia and former captain MS Dhoni smashed a six each before both departing in quick succession. It was like a procession of sorts as Pune was bowled out cheaply for 108 in the 17th over. It was pure domination at its very best from Delhi and they will surely look to take their confidence into the remaining games of the tournament. It will certainly be a morale boosting win for Delhi who will look for a change of fortunes in the 10th edition of the tournament.

Brief Scores

Delhi Daredevils 205/4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 102, Chris Morris 38*, Imran Tahir 1/24, Deepak Chahar 1/34)

Rising Pune Supergiant 108 all-out in 16.1 overs (Mayank Agarwal 20, Amit Mishra 3/11, Zaheer Khan 3/20, Pat Cummins 2/24)

Delhi Daredevils won by 97 runs